


After the Dance

by devilbk



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-03-22
Packaged: 2018-01-11 01:59:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 38,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1167279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilbk/pseuds/devilbk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five years after the events of The Dancing Diversion Penny and her daughter Cyndee vanish. Ten years later a stranger appears at Nora's door. Her old friend needs her help. What will she do? What will Sheldon do? Hardly any Leonard. Shenny if they're lucky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**After the Dance**

_“Penny, please don’t confuse me with my roommate. My life does not revolve around coitus. Until twenty-four hours ago I was content to live my life much as it has been with my work, my few friends and my family. Since meeting you I’ve realized that there is an empty space within me that requires filling. I’m not certain, but I think I ‘d like to find out if you and Cyndee can fill that space. If this causes you discomfort than I will of course leave and not bother you.”_

_“Sheldon, I have an empty space too and I’d really like to find out if it’s Sheldon-sized. But I want us to be careful. And I want both of us to be comfortable. And how Cyndee deals with it is critical. Are you okay with taking things slowly?”_

 

**Prologue**

_Five years later_

Raj dropped Sheldon off from work in front of the building. He hurried up the stairs. Penny hadn’t responded to any of his phone calls or texts all day. He quickly unlocked and opened the door.

“Penny!”

“Cyndee.”

No answer.

He took out his cell and called Penny again. He heard the phone ringing. It was sitting on the kitchen counter. He sat down on the couch and waited.

_Three days later_

Nora opened the door and walked in.

“Anything?”

“No word. Nothing. I’ve checked every hospital. I’ve called everyone that Penny has ever known. Nothing. It’s as though they never existed. Did I dream all of this, Nora? Did I dream that I was so happy?”

“No, Sheldon. It wasn’t a dream. And she was happy too. I know it.”

“Then why?”

“I haven’t got a clue. Not a damn clue.”

“I’ll find them, Nora. If it takes the rest of my life I’ll find them. Screw the secrets of the universe. I want the secret of my universe back.”

“And I’ll be right there with you. We’ll find them. We’ll put our world back together.”

 

**1**

_Ten years after Penny left_

She exited the cab in front of 2311 North Los Robles. It looked somehow smaller than she remembered. She nervously walked in and checked the mailboxes to make sure they were still there. She got into the elevator. She remembered always taking the stairs when she lived there. But that had been so long ago. She got off on the fourth floor. She thought that it was probably a better idea to start there.

Nora was slowly getting ready to go to work. _Manny’s_ had been pretty busy the night before. But it was a good kind of busy. It meant lots of money. And since she was now the manager and part owner that was pretty important. When Jeff and Weldon franchised Manny’s everyone had done pretty well. Especially her and Penny. When she thought about her long lost friend she got a bit wistful. Then she heard a knock at the door.

Nora opened the door to find a young girl, maybe eighteen, wearing dark glasses and with sky blue hair. Cute and sort of dressed in an east coast hipster outfit. And she had a big knapsack.

“Can I help you?”

“Hi, Nora.”

“I’m sorry, do I know you from somewhere?”

The young girl took off her glasses, revealing bright emerald eyes. She smiled.

“Remember me now?”

“Cyndee? Oh my God, Cyndee!”

Nora started bawling and gathered the young girl up in a tight embrace. Then she dragged her over to the couch and stared at her for a minute. Not knowing which of her questions she wanted answered first they all came flooding out.

“Where? Why? What? Oh, Cyndee. I’m so, so happy to see you.”

“Okay. I kinda haven’t been Cyndee Cooper for a long time. I’m okay if you want to call me Cyndee but I’ve been using Carli for a while now.”

“Did Penny change her name too? I know that Sheldon’s been looking the entire time but he hasn’t been able to find you guys. Is Penny okay? She’s not…”

“No, Mom is still with us. Still the same person…mostly. She’s been Rene for about as long as I’ve been Carli.”

“I guess you guys changed your last name too.”

“Yeah, kinda surprised that Sheldon didn’t ever figure that out.”

“Why?

“We’re Rene and Carli Spock.”

“You’re freaking kidding me.”

“Nope. When I was old enough I asked her why? She told me that even though she had to leave Sheldon behind she wanted to make sure part of him was always with her.”

“Cynd…Carli, why did you guys leave? That was the worst part, not knowing why.”

‘Uh, Nora. It’s not really that easy to talk about and I’d really rather not do it more than I absolutely have to. And I kinda think Sheldon needs to hear it first.”

“You’re right. Let’s go upstairs. He’ll be home soon and you should probably see the place before he gets there.”

“Why?”

“It’s better if you see it. I’d better make a phone call first.”

Nora placed a call to her assistant manager.

“Leilah, sorry to do this to you but I’m not coming in tonight. Kind of a family emergency. No, we’re all fine. It’s a sort of good kind of emergency but I’m sort of stuck here. Thanks. And, do me a favor, call Raj and ask him to come over to Sheldon’s as soon as he can.”

Fifteen years and two kids later Raj and Leilah’s first date still hadn’t ended.

Nora grabbed the key from the bowl and they left apartment 4A and went up the stairs to 5A. Nora opened the door.

“Are you ready, sweetie?”

“I guess.”

Nothing had changed in Apartment 5A since she and her mother had left. Not a blessed thing. Every picture on the wall was the same. Every piece of furniture was the same and in the same place. Every action figure and statue. The same.”

“Can I?”

“Sure.”

Carli started walking then ran to her old room and opened the door. It was like time hadn’t passed at all. Her toys and stuffed animals were exactly as she’d left them, even the ones that she’d left on the floor. And in the middle of her old bed, exactly where she ‘d left him was her most treasured toy of all, the first one that Sheldon had given her, the one she missed more than any other. She grabbed Flash Bear and held it tight and started crying.

Nora came up behind her and draped her arm over the girls shoulder.

“We should probably be out in the living room when he gets home. Nobody’s allowed in your room.”

Carli let herself be led back out to the living room but she wouldn’t let Flash Bear go.

“Would you like a cup of tea? Sheldon’s trained me pretty well.”

“Sure.”

Carli and Nora were sitting down drinking their tea when Sheldon arrived home.

“Hello, Nora. What a pleasant surprise. Who is your friend and excuse me but why do you have Cyndee’s Flash Bear? Nora, you know nobody is allowed in Cyndee’s room.”

Carli stood up and faced Sheldon.

“Hello Moonpie.”

Sheldon stood there for a moment and stared and then just started crying big, big tears and sniffling and he just didn’t know what to do or say. Carli ran over to him and just hugged him as tightly as she could.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

“Cyndee, why are you here. Where have you been? Is Penny with you? Where is she? How is she?”

“C’mon, give me a second. Okay. I’m here to check out housing because I’m starting the film program at USC in the fall. Mom isn’t with me. She’s back home. And she doesn’t know I’m doing this.”

“But, Cyndee, why did Penny leave me and why hasn’t she at least contacted any of us.”

“She’s scared. She was scared.”

“Of what?”

“Okay, it was a long time until she finally told me. I didn’t understand myself and she didn’t say anything at all until last year when I just kept pestering her. Apparently a few months before we left your old roommate…”

“Leonard Hofstadter.”

“Yeah, him. I guess he’d been out of jail for a while and he just started showing up everywhere she went. And I mean everywhere. She called the police but they said that when they spoke to him he could always prove he was somewhere else.”

“She never said anything to me.”

“Yeah, she told me she was afraid you’d do something and get yourself in trouble.”

“As I recall she did begin staying at home more and didn’t want to go anywhere.”

“Anyway, she told me he started making threats about hurting you and me and knowing he could get away with it. Then he emailed pictures of me at school to her. That was kind of the last straw. She grabbed me and ran.”

“She should have said something.”

Nora interjected. “Sheldon, you remember what a number Leonard did on her? And what he made her do? He had her too scared to do anything to help herself. And he got Cyndee taken away.”

“But why haven’t I been able to find you? Where have you been?”

“She changed our names. Penny and Cyndee Queen Cooper basically don’t exist anymore.”

“Then who are you now?”

“Sheldon, I think you’re going to kind of love this.”

“I’m Carli and she’s Rene.”

“But your last name. What is your last name?”

“Spock. We’re Carli and Rene Spock.”

“I never even considered that she might subconsciously leave me a clue.”

And believe me, I caught a lot of ribbing for that name in school. Everyone wanted to know if I was in love with Zachary Quinto.”

“Were you?”

“No way. Mom and I are both Leonard Nimoy girls.”

“You still watch _Star Trek_?”

“We have ‘em all. Even _Enterprise_ and _Voyager_ though neither of us like them that much. I grew up watching them. In fact, I bet we have every single DVD that you have on your shelf over there.”

“Where do you live, Cyn…Carli?”

“Moonpie, you can call me whatever you’re comfortable with. It’s been a long time. I’ve been trying to convince mom to start using her real name.”

“That may eventually prove confusing. But where do you live?”

“We live in New York City. In a part of Brooklyn called Park Slope.”

“What has Penny, um, Rene been doing? I assume she no longer dances.”

“No, she left that part of her life back here. Again, it’s been tough to get the details out of her but apparently Jeff and Weldon loaned her some money. She bought a building and runs a little bistro slash bar on the ground floor. We live on the top two floors and we have a couple of rental apartments.”

“That sounds very nice. Is the business doing well?”

“Well enough. Mom paid Jeff and Weldon back a long time ago. But that’s part of the reason I’m here.”

“Is something wrong?”

“Yeah. Something’s really wrong and I need your help. Mom needs help but she’ll never ask for it. She’s still really sorry about leaving. About not saying anything. About a lot of things.”

“Cyndee, is Penny…Rene with anyone?”

“Um, not until recently and that’s part of the problem too.”

“Perhaps you’d best explain.”

“A couple of months ago this guy comes into the restaurant looking for a job. I happened to be down there. I didn’t like the look on Mom’s face when she saw him. She looked kind of scared. No, it wasn’t Leonard. Anyway, he spoke to her for a few minutes and she hired him. Next thing I knew he’d moved into one of the apartments. His name’s Kurt.”

Sheldon and Nora looked at each other.

“You guys know something.”

“It’s not for us to say.”

“Tell me or I walk out that door and I’ll never, ever come back.”

“Sweetie, we can’t be sure. We never met the guy. We only heard about him.”

Carli glared at Sheldon and Nora. She apparently had Penny’s glare down perfectly.

“Tell me.”

“Your biological father’s name was Kurt.”

“That explains some stuff. He doesn’t know.”

“He never knew Penny was pregnant. I assume basic arithmetic is not part of his skill set.”

“Well, he knows enough math to be skimming from the till.”

“Has your Mom said anything to him?”

“No. I think she’s scared. I know he’s been screwing other women too.”

“Penny is sleeping with him?”

“Like I said, she’s scared. The thing is, it’s obvious he doesn’t care about the business. He’ll drive it into the ground and then move on. He’s been pushing for her to get a mortgage on the building. But it’s my mom’s whole life. If she loses it she won’t have anything. I’m worried.”

“What can we do?”

“She’s so used to doing things on her own that she won’t ask for help. But I know she needs you, both of you. You’re the best friends she’s ever had. She still loves both of you but it’s been so long and she feels so guilty about leaving that she won’t reach out. She’ll kill me when she finds out I did.”

“We’ll need to discuss this. There are, um, other factors involved. Where are you staying?”

“I told Mom I’d be staying with a friend but I kind of lied. I was hoping I could crash on a couch or the floor or something.”

“Of course you can. Unfortunately your old bed is a tad small for you now. Tonight you may use the couch but I’ll have an appropriate bed here for you by tomorrow night.”

“Please don’t go to any trouble.”

“It’s not any trouble. We have been separated for far too long. As long as you are here I wish to be as close to you as possible. And we can discuss your USC housing plans later. First, there is probably something you should know. Nora?”

“Let me call.”

Nora took out her cell.

“Hey Alex. I’m upstairs and we sort of have company. Can you guys come up?”

“I remember Alex. I’m glad you guys are still together. You are, aren’t you?”

“We are. We’re kind of an old married couple now. But there’s a little more. A few years ago we decided we wanted to have a kid.”

“That’s nice. Did you adopt?”

“No.”

“Surrogate?”

“No.”

“How?”

“The old fashioned way. We went to the best guy we knew and we ran it by him and he went along with it. Eventually. Best decision any of us ever made. She’s a great kid. Really smart. Not sure yet but she might be as smart or smarter than her dad.”

“Who’s her dad?”

Just the door opened and Alex walked in with a cute little girl with dark hair and incredible blue eyes. She looked to be about three years old.

“Carli, meet Penelope. She’s kind of your sister.”

“Holy crap on a cracker!”

Nora and Sheldon giggled. The little girl walked right up to Carli.

“Hi.”

“Hi Penelope. I’m Carli.”

“Nice to meet you Carli. Can I play with your Flash Bear? Moonpie likes Flash. Do you like Flash?”

“I love Flash. Of course you can play with Flash Bear. But be careful. He’s very old and he’s my favorite toy in the whole world.”

Penelope went across the room, sat down on the floor and began speaking quietly to Flash Bear. Carli watched her and then looked at Sheldon, Nora and Alex.

“Wow, I feel like I’m having a weird out-of-body _déjà vu_ experience. Oh, and I kind of remember you Alex. Um, I used to be, I guess I still am, Cyndee.”

“Whoa. I absolutely feel like I walked in on the middle of something.”

“Sweetie, this is family. We’re all family. A wackadoodle family but a family.”

“So how does this all work?”

“It’s actually pretty simple. Me and Alex are Penelope’s moms and Sheldon’s her dad. He’s as much a part of her life as he wants to be and so far that’s been a lot. We all love each other and we see ourselves as a family. And it’s a family you and your mom have always been a part of, whether you knew it or not.”

“Nora, tell her all of it.”

“It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Fuck you. You know it does. For both of you. And I’m okay with it. And she should know just like Penny should.”

“What?”

“Sheldon and I sometimes get together. He gets lonely and I love the guy. We both do.”

“I’m not at all comfortable with you two discussing intimate details of my life with someone whose diapers I used to change.”

“Moonpie, I’m so not a kid in diapers any more.”

“No you’re not. You remind me a great deal of your mother. Are you sexually active?

“Moonpie!”

“Well?”

“No. I’m not. Not yet. But Mom and I had the talk. We’ve had lots of talks. Now, do you guys need me to leave so you can talk?”

“I see no reason for you to do that. We may require further details from you.”

Alex looked curious.

“What’s going on?

“Apparently Penny will not reach out or even tell us where she is but Cyndee/Carli has come here to enlist our aid in rescuing her from her biological father. This would likely require Nora and/or myself traveling to Brooklyn, New York for an indeterminate time. Does that adequately sum things up?”

“I guess.”

“You’re going, right?”

“I’m not sure it’s as simple as that, Alex.”

“I think it is. The way I see it there’s only one person here who might have a problem with it and that’s me. You two have missed her every single day since she left. Neither of you have really moved on, especially you Sheldon. You guys won’t even consider moving out because you want to make sure she can find you. Both of you have had this giant Penny-sized-hole in your hearts for ten years. Fix it. I can handle Penelope. If I need help there are always the girls at the club. Leilah’s been chomping at the bit to manage the club without a net for forever. Go.”

“Alex, while I deeply appreciate what you are saying, I believe that Nora and I need to speak about this in private. Would you and Cyndee/Carli…”

“This is getting silly. Let’s have a vote. How many of you want to call me Cyndee?”

Sheldon and Nora both sheepishly raised their hands.

“Fine. It’s settled. As long as I’m in California, I’m Cyndee. Back in New York, I’m Carli. Okay? Proceed, Moonpie.”

“Alright. Alex, Cyndee and Penelope will accompany you downstairs. I believe Raj is on his way over. Please call Howard and Bernadette also and invite them over for dinner. Order whatever you like. Nora and I must talk.”


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

After the others had left, Nora began.

“God, she’s so much like Penny!”

“I’m aware. It is as though we’ve stepped back in time.”

“The blue hair kind of helps remind me it’s not…her.”

“I’m a bit afraid that this is just a dream.”

“You’re going, right?”

“I’m not certain I have very much choice in the matter. I still need her. I still want her. I still love her.”

“Sheldon, you can’t do this assuming you’ll get her to come back with you. She has a new life now.”

“I understand. Our primary mission must be to rescue her from Kurt.”

“If she wants to be rescued.”

“Yes. Will you accompany me?”

“Try and stop me.”

“I don’t believe that I will.”

“How soon do you think you can be ready?”

“It will probably take a few days. I need to arrange coverage. Raj should be able to help with that. There are also colleagues in New York I should inform that I am coming. They have been asking me to lecture there for quite some time, but I’m not fond of flying.”

“Sheldon, you’re not going to make us take the train to New York, are you?”

“No. I don’t believe I could survive the anticipation.”

“Sheldon there’s another thing you have to keep in mind.”

“What’s that, Nora?”

“Penny might not want us there. It’s been a long time. She might think we’re intruding.”

“I don’t believe that. I won’t believe that.”

“So, you’re going to make arrangements on your end. I’ll set things up with Leila and Raj.”

“There’s another matter that will have to be dealt with while we’re there.”

“What’s that?”

“It is my understanding that Leonard Hofstadter secured a teaching position at a junior college in New Jersey.”

“They let a convicted rapist teach kids?”

“I can only assume he lied about his conviction. And again, this would be New Jersey we are speaking of.”

“Point taken. What are you planning to do?”

“I’m not certain but now that I know that he was responsible for terrorizing Penny and fracturing my family and I cannot just let that stand, even if it happened over ten years ago. Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

“Sheldon, where are we going to stay? I mean, we’re both pretty okay money-wise, but an extended stay in a hotel is gonna be expensive.”

“Perhaps Cyndee can point us in an affordable direction.”

“Okay, let’s head down and catch the rest of the reunion.”

Sheldon and Nora held hands on the way downstairs. Nora was a bit concerned. She knew that Sheldon didn’t handle change terribly well.

When they walked into 4A they found Cyndee playing with Penelope on the floor. Nora squeezed Sheldon’s hand. The two seemed to have bonded very quickly.

“You two are getting along pretty well.”

“I’ve always wanted a little sister.”

“Carli, are you my sister?”

“Kinda.”

“Cool.”

Carli picked Penelope up and hugged her. Just then the door flew open and Raj, Howard and a very pregnant Bernadette walked in.

“Hi guys.”

Howard looked around. “Hey, who’s the blue-haired princess? New babysitter?”

Sheldon stood up and presented Carli, who was still holding Penelope.

“Howard, Bernadette, Raj, you remember Cyndee.”

“Cyndee, you remember your Uncles Howard and Raj and your Aunt Bernadette?

Bernadette reacted first and quickly waddled over to Cyndee and gave her a hug and kiss.

“Oh my God! Cyndee! You’re all grown up! Where’s your mom? Is she here?”

“I’m sorry. Mom’s back in Brooklyn. She kinda doesn’t know I’m here.”

Cyndee updated the three newcomers over pizza.

“Sheldon, I don’t understand. It’s not Thursday. How can we have pizza?”

“I’m surprised you still remember my dining schedule.”

“It wouldn’t be very easy to forget, I’ve pretty much been on that schedule my entire life.”

“Penny maintained my schedule even after she left?”

“Up to and including Anything-Can-Happen Thursday. I told you that she wanted to be sure you stayed a big part of our lives.”

“Except for actually including me,” Sheldon said sadly.

“Listen, Mom is complicated. You know that. I can’t really explain why she did the things she did. I can only tell you what she told me and report what I’ve observed. I know that she still loves you very much and that she misses you every single day. That being said, I have absolutely no idea how she’ll react to seeing you, either of you.”

“That brings up a question, Cyndee. Where will we stay? While Nora and I are both financially secure, we are by no means wealthy. An open-ended hotel stay will be prohibitive.”

“I’ve sort of figured that out. One of our rental apartments is available and I sort of told Mom that I found a couple of tenants. She’s let me manage the rentals for a couple of years. The folks who just left were friends and I convinced them to leave some of their furniture rather than throw it out. I gave it a top-to-bottom cleaning before I left and I brought a set of keys with me.”

“So you just kind of assumed we were gonna go along with your cockamamie plan?”

“Was I wrong?”

“No. But we will pay rent while we are there.”

“That’s okay. Rent is pretty reasonable since we own the whole building. It’s definitely cheaper than a hotel and lower than most Park Slope rents. The neighborhood can be pretty pricey. We basically use the rent money to pay for utilities and until Kurt showed up we only rented to people we really liked.”

“I’ll need to arrange to ship some things rather than carry them on the plane. Do you have WiFi?”

“The whole building does.”

“Cyndee, how long are you planning to stay here?”

“I’m supposed to fly back on Sunday.”

“If we were to arrive on Wednesday, would that work?”

“Sure.”

“Are you going to tell your mother that we’re coming?”

“I’ll tell her the new tenants are coming. I’m not going to tell her who they are. She’ll freak if she knows ahead of time.”

“Honey, if I know Penny, she’ll freak no matter when she finds out.”

“It’s okay. I have a pretty good immunity to Nebraska. I kinda had a rebellious period.”

“Considering your mother I’d be shocked if you didn’t. Are you certain this isn’t part of it?”

“Sheldon, this may be the most responsible thing I’ve done in my entire life.”

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

Everybody was sad to see Carli leave on Sunday, especially Penelope. They had to promise her that Carli would be back. Sheldon tried to convince Carli to live with him when she started school. Unfortunately, Carli said that wouldn’t really be very practical. Not only wasn’t USC that close to Pasadena but Carli, like Sheldon, didn’t drive. Growing up in Brooklyn she really didn’t need to. She told them that Penny no longer even owned a car. When they needed one they’d rent a Zip Car, which was located right down the block.

When Penny met Carli at the airport she looked tired. She’d rented a Zip Car for the drive home.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, sweetie.”

“Mom.”

“Okay, money’s a little tight, especially after paying your tuition bills.”

“Mom, I could always stay at home. Or go someplace closer, like Purchase College. It’s a state school. It’d be a lot cheaper.”

“No. You wanted to go to USC. You got in. And you should spend some time where you were born. Maybe you might even get to see some of our old friends eventually.”

“Mom, why haven’t you stayed in touch with them? Why haven’t you at least spoken to Sheldon?”

“Sweetie, I don’t want to talk about it. Okay? It just hurts too much.”

“Fine. Listen, I heard from our new tenants. They’ll be here on Wednesday.”

“Good we can use the rent money. Fucking Kurt isn’t paying his.”

“That and his pals all drink for free. Mom, you need to cut that guy loose. He’s bad news.”

“Honey, just stay out of it. And stay away from him. Okay? There’s things there you don’t understand.”

Carli bit her lower lip. She knew exactly what was going on and she didn’t care that Kurt was her biological father. He was a stranger and more important he was an asshole who was taking advantage of her mother. Carli wasn’t sure if there was physical abuse, but she knew there was psychological abuse. She wanted to say something but she decided to hold her tongue until the cavalry arrived.

“So who are the new tenants?”

“Well he teaches college and she’s in the entertainment industry.”

“They actually have jobs, right?”

“They have jobs and I checked their references and I did a credit check. They were just between banks and they’ll give us all the money on Wednesday.”

“Okay. I want to meet them just as soon as they’re settled. But I like the idea of a college professor living in the building. Lots of good memories.”

Carli knew what her mom was remembering. Carli liked seeing that wistful smile on her mother’s face. She was thinking about her wackadoodle husband that she hadn’t seen or spoken to in ten years. Her husband who she still loved more than anything. The husband that she didn’t know was about to walk back into her life.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

 

Though Sheldon excelled at planning travel he wasn’t particularly fond of the travelling itself unless it was via rail. Sheldon loved trains about as much as he hated planes. He knew that the odds of a plane crash were slight but he knew exactly what they were and he didn’t like them. Nora knew this and planned ahead. She knew she’d pay for it later but she drugged the orange juice he was given on the plane. She drugged it very, very slightly. But very, very slightly was enough to knock Sheldon out for the entire flight. She’d done the same thing when Penelope was born. It was a natural childbirth and though Sheldon insisted on being there, Alex was actually going to be the one participating. Nora knew that Sheldon would faint at the first sight of blood and told Alex to offer him some juice. He never knew what hit him. When he woke up in the waiting room he was a father. And though he was pretty sure he’d been drugged he never said a word.

Sheldon started stirring as the plane began approaching LaGuardia Airport. By the time they landed he was wide awake. He’d arranged for a car to bring them to Brooklyn. He asked the driver to let them know when they were in Park Slope. He told them he would show them the scenic route.

“This is Prospect Park West and on your left is Prospect Park. It’s pretty big and was designed by the same folks who did Central Park. Right there is the bandshell and there are shows there a couple of days a week thoughout the summer.” They turned right on 13th street and proceeded down a block of brownstone buildings and turned right at the end of the block on 8th Avenue and then right again onto 12th Street and pulled over. It was early evening.

“Here you are folks.”

Sheldon and Nora smiled. Carli had given them the address of the building but not the name of the bar, _Wackadoodle’s_.

Sheldon tipped the driver and took out the keys that Carli had given him. He wanted to go right into the restaurant to find Penny but Nora said to wait. They proceeded upstairs to Apartment 2, opened the door and turned on the light. It was not terribly big but good enough for the two of them. Sheldon immediately put his bags down and looked for the cleaning materials that Carli promised would be there. Sheldon began cleaning as Nora began unpacking. There was only one problem and neither one of them wanted to point it out. There was only one queen-sized bed and no couch.

Rene had supervised deliveries all day. In the past the bartender on duty did that but Kurt really only liked to pour drinks and not do much of anything else. Rene couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t able to get rid of him. But she was lonely and he reminded her of when she was young and optimistic and a little bit stupid and there was a part of her that missed those days. And even when things were bad with Kurt the sex was always good. It wasn’t anywhere near as good as it had been with Sheldon but it was a whole lot better than nothing and nothing was a whole lot better than that creep Leonard who’d ruined her life. Rene was tired and Rene was broke and she was pretty sure that Kurt was stealing from her but she didn’t want him to hit her again and she definitely didn’t want him anywhere near Carli.

After she was sure the restaurant and bar were set for the night she decided to head upstairs and meet the new tenants. If the restaurant wasn’t too busy she’d probably treat them to dinner as a sort of welcome to the building. It was a tradition she’d started when she bought the place and it gave her a chance to get to know the people she’d be living in such close proximity to. She knew the value of good neighbors. She put her best smile on and knocked on the door to apartment 2.

She heard a woman yell “It’s open” and she walked in. She figured the tenants must be on the far end of the apartment. She called out “Hi, it’s Rene, your landlady. I just want to welcome you to the…”

She almost walked into a tall man wearing yellow rubber gloves and smelling of bleach. She looked up and into a pair of blue eyes she thought she’d never see again and then everything went black.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

 

When Rene woke up she was in the bedroom. Her husband was holding her hand and her best friend was next to him and her daughter was nervously smiling behind them.

“Carli, I’m so gonna go Nebraska on your ass.”

“Gee, Mom, you might try saying hello to your friends first.”

“I…I…I…”

Sheldon just gathered her up and held her as tight as he could. He started quietly singing

_Soft Kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur_

_Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr_

Rene didn’t want to say anything. She just wanted that moment to last forever.

Suddenly there was a loud bang as the front door burst open.

“Hey Rene. You in here? I need money.”

Kurt.

A big, hulking man poked his head into the bedroom.

“Rene, I got a big poker game tonight. I grabbed the money from the till downstairs but it’s not enough. Gimme some more. I know you got some squirreled around here somewhere.”

Rene looked terrified.

Sheldon kept holding her.

“Hey, what the hell are you doing holding my girl. You get your hands off her.”

“Excuse me. Rene is not your girl. She is my wife. And you will depart from this apartment immediately.”

“Stringbean, you’re gonna learn pretty quick that I go where I want and I do what I want around here. Ain’t that right, Rene?”

Rene buried her face in Sheldon’s chest.

Nora stood up and faced Kurt. She had a lot of experience dealing with bullies and drunks and steroid-fueled lunk-heads and Kurt was all three of these. She knew exactly how to handle him.

“Excuse me but I believe you were asked to leave.”

“And I said I do what I want. Say, you’re pretty cute. What do you say we head on over to my place for a bit. I don’t have to be at the game for a while.”

With her right hand Nora grabbed hold of Kurt’s testicles and squeezed and pushed. He began to back up. Each sentence Nora delivered came with another squeeze. And Kurt was not enjoying it.

“Looks like someone needs to learn a little bit about boundaries. _(squeeze)_   If the door is closed, you knock. _(squeeze)_   If someone says leave, you go. Get it? _(squeeze)_ ”

“Yeah.”

“GET IT? _(squeeze)_ ”

“G..g…got it.”

“Good. Now you would be well advised to stay the hell away from Sheldon and myself and Rene and Carli. And by the way, we’re a little short of cash. Can we have some? _(squeeze)_ ”

“The money’s mine. I earned it.”

Nora squeezed again.

“Yeah, I doubt that. Money. Now.”

Kurt stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Nora, hoping she would release him. She didn’t. Nora took it with her left hand and threw it on the bed behind her.

“Now. Leave. Quickly. And just so we are perfectly clear, I’m a pissed-off dyke and you possess a body part that I consider completely useless and I’m not above removing it from you in an effort to improve your personality. Get me? _(squeeze)_ ”

Six foot five Kurt was looking about three foot six.

“I gotcha. This isn’t over. Bitch.”

After watching Kurt back out the door, Nora closed it behind him.

“Listen, babe. Tomorrow we are changing all the locks in this place.”

“I…I…I…don’t know what to say.”

“Saying you’re glad to see us would be a start.”

Rene started separating herself from Sheldon. She brushed her hair back with her hand, wiped her eyes on her sleeve and stood up a little defiantly.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, Nora, but I’m not entirely sure I am. You’ve been here for five minutes and you’re making decisions that I’m going to have to live with long after you’re gone.”

“Then maybe we won’t leave. We’ve got ten years to catch up on and that’s gonna take a while. And that’s not even considering what I’m pretty sure Sheldon wants to catch up on.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t do this right now. I need to process this. Um, we’ll talk tomorrow. Meet me for breakfast in the restaurant at eleven. Both of you. Okay?”

Sheldon didn’t look happy.

“B…b…but, Penny.”

“It’s Rene, Sheldon. I haven’t been Penny for a long time. And this is my place. My rules. Breakfast. Tomorrow. Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“And you, young lady, up to your room now. We’re going to have a little discussion about boundaries too.”

“Oh, crap.”

“Yeah, oh crap is right. March!”

Rene began to follow Carli out of the apartment when Sheldon called out “Rene, the money.”

“I’ll get it from you in the morning. It’s probably safer in here anyway. Kurt’s afraid of Nora removing the only part of his body capable of thought. I’ll see you in the morning. And thank you.”

Rene closed the door behind her.

“Well that certainly could have gone better.”

“Nora, she had no way to be prepared for what just transpired. I can imagine that Penny, um, Rene has many conflicting thoughts and emotions at the moment. Perhaps its best for all of us that she takes a little time.”

“Sheldon, I’ve known that girl a little longer than you. She isn’t terribly fond of facing her problems. Remember what happened with Leonard. If he hadn’t pushed it too far she would have kept on fucking him to protect Cyndee. And when he started stalking her instead of asking for help which was right there and more than willing to do anything for her if she gave the word, she ran. If we push too hard now, she could run again.”

“You’re right, Nora. I had hoped that we would have time to reacquaint ourselves slowly and calmly discuss the problems and options. However, the Neanderthal’s untimely intervention into our reunion has rendered that plan moot.”

“I think it’s best if we follow her lead. Let her make the decisions. Let’s just concentrate on getting to know our friend again.”

“I suspect that this time around it will require less nudity.”

“Wouldn’t bet on that, Sheldon.”

“Yes, I momentarily forgot to whom I was speaking. Nora, what are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?”

“Well, at least for tonight I guess we’re sharing. Tomorrow we should probably think about getting another bed.”

“What will Penny assume happened tonight?”

“Hopefully she has enough other stuff floating around in her noggin so it doesn’t occur to her.”

“Nora, as you pointed out, you’ve known her longer than I. What do you suppose is the probability of that happening?”

“Slim and none.”

“Bingo.”

Suddenly there was a quiet knock at the door. Nora opened it to find Carli in her pajamas clutching a pillow, blanket and folded sheets.

“Mom says she’s sorry. You took her by surprise. She’d like Sheldon to go upstairs and she wants me to stay here. The way I figure it there’s either going to be yelling or fucking or both and she doesn’t want me around.”

“Now that sounds like Penny. Sheldon, you may as well grab your Wednesday PJs and stuff for tomorrow and head upstairs.”

“Alright.”

“Listen, she wanted an update on some things so I basically gave it to her but I didn’t say anything about Penelope. I thought that would probably be better coming from you guys.”

“Thanks, sweetie. Sheldon, we should tell her about Penelope together, okay?”

“You’re right, of course. But you know I can’t lie.”

“Sheldon, I doubt she’s going to ask you if the two of us had any children together.”

“Nora, predicting Penny’s thought processes has never been easy. You know that.”

“Yeah. All too well. Just do your best. And good luck.”

“Thank you.”

Sheldon gathered what he needed and left the apartment.

Carli got into the bed as Nora began to get undressed.

“So, I guess it’s just the two of us sharing the bed, huh Nora?”

“Yup.”

“Okay, just so you know, I’m not into going full lesbo but I’m perfectly fine with light petting and making out.”

“Kiddo, you better say “just kidding” or you’ll be sleeping in the bathtub.”

“Okay, kidding. Fair warning though, I snore a little.”

“It’s okay. So does your mom.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do.”

“Did you guys…”

“Shut up, kid, and go to sleep.

“You did! You and my mom. Was it before Sheldon or during or was it all three of you?”

“Shut up kid and go to sleep.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene._

“It’s open, Sheldon.”

Sheldon walked into an apartment that was very different from the one that he and Nora were in. It was more open, almost loft-like, and it was quite modern with floor-to-ceiling windows on the end that overlooked the yards and gardens in back and on the street end it had standard windows and the corner was a roundish area with a spire and windows all around. In it was an overstuffed armchair with a reading lamp.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Sheldon, I’m sorry for before. You surprised me. You both did.”

“I apologize. You really gave us no other option.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“What shall I call you?”

“Well, I’d prefer Rene but when it’s just the two of us I guess I’m okay with Penny. Sort of like you with Moonpie. Speaking of which…”

“Meemaw is still with is, Penny. She has a bit of trouble getting around so she lives with Missy and her family now.”

“I would have thought she’d move in with your mom.”

“Meemaw can tolerate Mother’s church nonsense only slightly more than I can. If they lived together one of them would murder the other. I was sorry to hear about your parents.”

“Thanks. I didn’t know you were in touch with them.”

“Penny, I’ve been searching for you for ten years. I’m in touch with almost everyone you’ve ever known. Were you in touch with them?”

“Not for a long time. Dad was pretty angry with me about leaving you. After Mom got sick I took Carli to Omaha so she could get to know them a little but didn’t tell them where we lived. When Mom passed I tried to convince Dad to come live with us. He never let on that he was sick too.”

“I was in Europe lecturing when he passed away. When I got back there was a message in my office for me to call him and that it was important. I’ve always thought he might have found out where you were and wanted to tell me.”

“You were probably right. At the end he knew where I was.”

How have you been able to stay under the radar for so long?”

“We mostly exchanged letters and those went to a post office box and were picked up by an acquaintance and sent to another post office box which I picked them up from. Or I used burner phones that I discarded after each call. Jeff and Weldon had a way to reach me in an emergency.”

“We haven’t seen very much of Jeff and Weldon since they moved to Costa Rica. Why, Penny. Why did you have to leave?”

“I was scared, Sheldon. I was scared of Leonard. I was scared for Cyndee. You have to understand.”

“You never wanted to speak about what happened between you during that time. What Leonard did.”

“And I never will. If I had a gun he’d be dead. I swear it. Just thinking about it now I want to kill him.”

“I’m going to deal with him.”

“No. Don’t. It’s over. For a long time.”

“It isn’t. Not for you. I can see the fear in your eyes just at the mention of his name. I saw that same fear when Kurt came into the apartment. Penny, you have to let us help you. You can’t live this way.”

“We were fine, Sheldon. Carli and I were fine for a very long time. And then Kurt had to wander in looking for a job. I didn’t even know he was on the east coast. Once he saw me it was like I was eighteen again and he could get me to do whatever he wanted. When I saw him give Carli the same look he used to give me I knew I had to do anything to keep him away from her. That and I was really lonely.”

“So there haven’t been any others?”

“Not really. Once in a while. But nothing more than an occasional one-night stand. I had Carli to think of. That and there was you.”

“We’ve had no contact for ten years.”

“I still love you. I don’t think I could ever love anyone like I love you.”

“Yet you still stayed away, would still have done nothing if Cyndee hadn’t come to us.”

“I guess saying I’m sorry doesn’t cut it.”

“It would be a start.”

“Then I’m sorry. You’re still an important part of my life even though we haven’t been together for ten years.”

“So I understand. It seems I am present in most every way but in person.”

“Damn it, Sheldon. You don’t have to be that cold.”

“How am I to be, then? I’m not sure there is actually a protocol for this situation.”

“I think we do the same thing we did when we met.”

“When we met you weren’t wearing any clothing.”

“I mean when we really met. When you were that sweet guy talking to the girl crying in the alley.”

“Perhaps we should have some tea then.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

They talked all night.

“Sheldon, I would have thought you’d have that Nobel Prize by now.”

“I still expect to receive it. Eventually. It just hasn’t been my top priority for a long time.”

“What has?”

“Do you really need to ask?”

“That is so not fair. You’re blaming the entire world not having the answer to its biggest mystery on the cowardice of a stupid stripper.”

“I did no such thing. And you are not stupid. And you are much more than a stripper.”

“Then how can you stop doing your work? How can you just stop?”

“I’ve never stopped. I am still searching for the answers. It just ceased to be my reason for waking up every morning. It was replaced with the hope that each day would be the day that I found you and Cyndee. And something else.”

“What else?”

“I can’t say at the moment. Please don’t ask.”

“That’s not like you. You never liked secrets.”

“I still don’t. It is just inappropriate for me to reveal that information at this time. You will know soon enough.”

“So everyone else is good?”

“They are well enough. Raj and Leila are still together and have a little boy and a little girl. Raj is still at the University as a tenured professor. Howard is now at JPL and is greatly valued there. When Howard and Bernadette finally decided to have children they had a great deal of trouble conceiving but things have finally worked out for them and Bernadette is now seven months pregnant. Alex and Nora are of course still together and Alex is teaching at the University and doing some very interesting work, some of which has been very helpful to me.”

“What about you, Sheldon?”

“I believe I already covered that.”

“So you haven’t seen anyone since I left?”

“I see people every day.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Not really.”

“You’re being evasive.”

“Penny, I believe I am one of those who mates for life.”

“So you never even seek some stress relief. If I recall you developed quite an appetite.”

“Penny!”

“Sheldon!”

“Alright. There is a person. A friend who I occasionally seek the company of in that way.”

“Who? Is it someone I know?”

“Penny, in this area I believe we share similar tastes.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“I would never do such a thing.”

“You and Nora?”

“We’ve always enjoyed each other’s company. If you recall she always took great pleasure in teasing me.”

“But what about Alex?”

“Alex is quite aware and has given us her blessing. It isn’t as though we are having an affair. We care for each other and occasionally have coitus.”

“I’m sure you remember that I don’t like that word.”

“I believe that in this situation it is apropos.”

“No. You’re wrong. Even if what you two are doing is casual and completely above board, it’s still sex or making love. There is nothing clinical about it.”

“Penny, how do you feel about it?”

“I think I probably gave up the right to an opinion a long time ago.”

“Penny, we are still married. You are still my wife. I am still your husband.”

“I don’t have the right.”

_“Penny, I’m fucking your best friend. How do you feel about it?”_

“Wow, I’ve never heard you be so blunt about anything. Okay, honestly I don’t know how I feel. A little jealous, maybe, that Nora can have you and I can’t.”

“That situation is and always has been entirely within your control.”

“So you’re saying that I could just waltz back into apartment 5A at any time without warning and you’d take me back no questions asked.”

“I never said there would be no questions asked. They just wouldn’t be asked first. But yes, I would accept you back in my life. Do you really need to ask such a question?”

“No, probably not.”

“So, if I hadn’t sent Carli down to get you, you and Nora would have slept together.”

“There is but one bed and no couch. But the operative word is slept. We discussed purchasing an additional bed tomorrow. Had we known prior to our arrival that there was only one bed those arrangements would have been made in advance.”

“Sheldon, how long are you planning to stay?”

“As long as we are needed. As long as we are wanted.”

“So you just up and dropped everything?”

“Not entirely. My longtime service at the University allows me some freedom. I have rarely taken all of the time off that is due me. And while I am here I will be doing some lecturing in the area. It’s been some time since I’ve been in the New York area and a number of people have expressed interest.”

“Yeah, you haven’t been here in four years.”

“I’m surprised you know that.”

“You shouldn’t be. I know how to use a computer. I have an alert programmed for you. Besides, I went to those lectures. Almost every one of them.”

“Why didn’t you…”

“Are you going to keep asking that?”

“You still haven’t really answered.”

“I suggest that we concentrate on right now and when we’re comfortable with that we start thinking about tomorrow. Yesterday is gone and there isn’t a lot we can do to change it.”

“What would you like to do right now?”

“Maybe get a little sleep. Maybe be held by a guy who I haven’t been held by for too long.”

“I believe I could do that.”

“Goodnight, Moonpie.”

“Goodnight, Penny.”

 


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

 

When Sheldon woke up the next morning, Penny was already gone. He checked his phone and saw it was 10:00am. He went into Penny’s bathroom and immediately marveled at how clean it was. He took a shower, shaved, brushed his teeth and got dressed. He decided to retrieve Nora on his way down to _Wackadoodle’s_ for breakfast.

“So, how was the big reunion? I was expecting to hear it from down here.”

“We spoke for quite a while and then slept for a bit. That’s all. I suspect there will be much more talking.”

“Sheldon, you realize that you and Penny is much more important to me than you and me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. Penny and I are not ready. I’m not certain she ever will be.”

“Yeah, well I am. So I gave a little thought to how we’re going to tell her about Penelope.”

“I’ve already made her aware of you and I.”

“How did she take it?”

“A bit too well, actually.”

“I was a little afraid of that.”

“I don’t understand.”

“She doesn’t want you to think she has a claim on you. She’s already preparing to let you go again.”

“You know her pretty well.”

“It may have been ten years and Penny may be complicated but in some areas…”

“She still runs even while she is standing still.”

“Pretty good. So anyway, back to Penelope. I suggest we introduce them to each other and then explain. Bring your laptop. Alex is expecting us to call.”

“Alright.”

Sheldon and Nora headed downstairs. They had to actually leave the building to enter the restaurant, which wasn’t yet open for business. They knocked on the door and Penny came from the back to let them in.

“Sorry I couldn’t do this upstairs but I’ve got deliveries and the person who’s normally supposed to handle them doesn’t feel like it.”

“Kurt.”

“Yeah.”

“Penny, please let me show him the door. I’d really enjoy it.”

“You people have been here less than a day. Please don’t assume you can swoop in and save me. I kind of resent it. And what am I supposed to do for a bartender then?”

“I’ll do it until you can hire the right person. I can see from how this place looks that it isn’t Kurt. And you know how good a bartender I am.”

“Well, you’re right on that account. He’s chased away some of my regulars and the people he’s got coming in are not helping things. And it’s not like they’re paying customers.”

“So let me take care of it.”

“Slow down. This is still my place. I’ll decide what happens and when.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

“And throwing him out isn’t going to end it.”

“I know. But we’ve kind of dealt with this before. Anyway, I’m hungry.”

“You two have a seat. I’ll be out in a minute. I believe it’s French Toast Day.”

“Quite right, Rene.”

“Penny’s okay when it’s just us,” she said as she headed back to the kitchen.

Nora and Sheldon sat down and set up the laptop.

“This is gonna be interesting.”

Penny brought out a big tray with food and juice and coffee and set it on a stand next to the table. While they ate they began talking.

“What’s with the laptop?”

“Someone’s going to be joining us.”

“Okay?”

“Sheldon let me know that he told you about our thing.”

“That you and my husband are fuck buddies, yeah.”

“You seem to be talking it pretty well.”

“I’m not really in a position to pass judgment.”

“There’s something else you need to know.”

“What’s that?

“In a second. There’s someone we’d like you to meet.”

Sheldon punched a couple of buttons and Alex Jensen’s face appeared.

“Hi guys. Hi Penny.”

“Hi Alex. You look good.”

“You too. Been a while.”

“Yup. C’mon guys. I know Alex.”

“Wait for it.”

Alex was speaking to someone.

“Come here sweetie. There’s someone we want you to meet.”

Suddenly there was a little girl’s face on the screen. Alex was still in the background.

“Hello. I’m Penelope.”

“Aren’t you the cutest thing? I’m Rene. So who’s your mommy?

“I have two mommies.”

Penny looked at Nora. “So?”

“Yup.”

Tears started falling from Penny’s eyes. “You guys named your daughter after me?”

Penelope spoke again. “You said your name was Rene.”

“It used to be Penelope.”

“Are you the one that my mommies and daddy talk about?”

“Daddy?”

Nora interjected. “Look at her, sweetie. It’s a pretty good connection.” Sheldon was silent.

Rene/Penny stared at the screen. Incredible blue eyes. Dark hair.

“Holy crap on a cracker.”

Alex laughed. “Same reaction as Cyndee.”

“Um, Penelope, it was really nice meeting you.”

“Are you Carli’s mommy?”

“Yup. I’m Carli’s mommy.” Under her breath Rene said “But maybe not for much longer.”

“I like Carli. She let me play with her Flash Bear. My mommies said I’m going to see her again soon. Are you moving here with her?”

“Your mommies are right. Carli’s going to be back soon. I have to go now, sweetie.”

“Goodbye, Rene. It was nice meeting you.”

Sheldon closed the laptop.

“I think I need a minute.”

Penny walked to the front of the bar and stared out the window. Then she closed her eyes, took a breath and came back to the table and sat down.

“Okay, she’s a cutie but that was a really crappy thing to do.”

“Penny, can you think of painless way for us to impart that information.”

“You could have just told me,” Penny said softly.

Sheldon and Nora both tried to get a read on Penny’s reaction. It seemed to change from minute to minute, from response to response. Anger. Resentment. Sadness. Sarcasm.

“Yeah, and how would that have gone? Oh by the way, Penny, not only am I fucking your husband but I’m having his children.”

“Yeah, um, that would not have been a good way to break the news. So how about explaining?”

“Okay, first of all, this was not an accident.”

“That makes me feel so much better,” she responded sarcastically.

“Excuse me, Penny, but your current reaction runs counter to virtually everything you said last night.”

“What can I say? I’m unpredictable.”

“Do we get to explain?”

“Sure, explain.”

“Four years ago, Alex and I decided we wanted to have a kid. Naturally. We decided that I was the one who was going to get pregnant. Then we tried to figure out exactly how that was going to happen. Pretty quickly we both came to the conclusion that we wanted to ask the best guy we knew if he wanted to help us out.”

“Well, the two of you were screwing anyway.”

“Actually, Penny, that’s not true. From the time you left until then I was taking care of my own needs. Nora and Alex actually worked very hard to convince me that I should help them. Initially I said no. I actually said no several times and quite emphatically. Finally they appealed to me in a way that was successful.”

“And that was?”

“That though I had faith that the two of us would someday be reunited that there was no guarantee that you would that at that point wish to procreate since you already had a child. It was something the two of us discussed but had never reached a conclusion on. Additionally they convinced me that there was no way to predict the future and that I had a duty to share the possibility of a Sheldon 2.0 with the world.”

“Well, the first part is fair. We had never made that decision because we both thought there was time. And we still don’t know whether we have a future together. Not being able to predict the future is true but the part about Sheldon 2.0 is crap. They were stroking your ego and you know it.”

“Penny, it’s obvious you have some feelings about this.”

“How could I not? There was probably always the thought in the back of my mind that me and Sheldon might want to have a kid together someday. And it wasn’t that I thought that he couldn’t love Cyndee like she was his own. I had no doubt of that. He did. He does. It’s just that seeing her, knowing that she exists and she isn’t mine, that I’m not part of her life…And knowing that I lost that, that it’ll never be mine.”

“Why the hell do you think we named her after you? You are absolutely part of her. You are part of our family and you always will be.”

“You guys think of yourselves as a family?”

“We do. It may be a little heavy-handed to say this considering where we are sitting but we always refer to ourselves as a wackadoodle family. Two mommies and a kid with a daddy who lives upstairs and another mommy and sister who live somewhere else. The difference now is that we finally know where that somewhere else is and we’ve all finally met each other.”

“You have to admit it’s a little weird.”

“How much weirder is it than two best-friend strippers both finding true love with brilliant theoretical physicists?”

“I guess you got me there. So how does it really work?”

“It really is pretty simple. Alex and I are Penelope’s moms. We pretty much take care of most of it. Sheldon’s part is whatever he wants it to be. He’s definitely her daddy and he’s a pretty good one. You remember how good a dad he was with Cyndee.”

“Yeah, Cyndee and Sheldon loved each other the moment they met.”

“And we’re pretty sure Penelope got the beautiful mind genes. She’s already reading. We figure that he’s going to be more involved as she gets older because of the genius thing but there is no way she’s going away to school until she’s a lot older and we all agreed on that.”

“Indeed. Though there was a great deal about my experience that was positive, I believe that our current home situation is much more conducive to a proper upbringing for Penelope than mine was in Texas.”

“So what am I, an aunt, a mother-in-law, half-mother, big sister? Do I even exist except as an idea?”

“Well, officially you’re her Godmother. Whatever you are beyond that is up to you. She and Carli have already decided that they’re sisters.”

“Speaking of which, I do have to murder my daughter. Is there anything else she knows that I don’t?”

Nora and Sheldon looked at her sheepishly. “Yes.”

Penny glared at them. “What.”

“Before we answer that we’d like to know where the bat is.”

“It’s behind the bar.”

“Okay, you need to promise you won’t kill us. We didn’t want to tell her. She made us. She’s really like you that way. A lot like you. She threatened to walk out the door and never come back. We couldn’t go through that again, Penny. We just couldn’t.”

“Tell me, damn it!”

“She knows her biological father’s name is Kurt.”

“You had no right to tell her that. Goddamn it! Now what?”

“Penny, I don’t believe this really changes anything. You need to have a conversation with Carli that you knew you had to have someday.”

“Fine.”

“And you still need to get rid of Kurt. Carli has expressed to us that she has no desire to know any more of him than she already does. The longer he is here the more likely it is that he will find out. Do you want him in Carli’s life?”

“No. But I think I need to hear all those things from her.”

“I believe we have but one option.”

“I know Kurt. It’s going to be messy.”

“And having him live under your roof isn’t messy? And fucking him to keep him away from your daughter isn’t messy? And having him and his pals drink up your profits isn’t messy?”

“When you put it that way.”

“The other thing that’s messy is him thinking that all he needs to do is face you down and he can do whatever he wants. I’m more than happy to do the dirty work. I need to know you have my back. If all he has to do is catch you alone to get you to let him stay than I’m not going to even bother.”

“He has some ideas for the place.”

“What kind of ideas?”

“He thinks we can make a lot more money as a sports bar.”

“Sweetie, I did a little research on this neighborhood before we came. This is a family neighborhood. In the hour we’ve been down here I’ve counted twenty women with kids in strollers going by. You know what kind of crowd goes to a sports bar. You know that you’re gonna end up with loud, messy drunks late at night. And you know what happens then? The neighbors will get pissed. You know your neighbors, right? You’ll be out of business in a year. Kurt wants a sports bar so he can be the big man and take care of his buddies. When the place goes belly up he’ll just move on leaving you to clean up his mess.”

“He’ll just wait until you’re gone.”

“Then I’ll stay until he’s convinced I’m never leaving.”

“And Penelope?”

“Maybe Alex and Penelope come for an extended visit? You’ve got room.”

“Okay. Fine.”

“No, Penny. We aren’t doing this because I want you to do it and you’re going along. We’ll do it because you want to do it. If you need time to figure that out, go ahead, take some time. Just one thing, you know I’m right.”

“We don’t need to solve all of Penny’s problems in one day. Or any of them. What would you like us to do?”

“Sheldon, you said there were colleagues you needed to reach out to. Why don’t you work on that? Nora and I have some things we need to talk about. And I have to have that conversation with Carli. Not a fucking thing happens around here until I decide it does. Do you understand?”

“I understand. I expect some packages to be delivered sometime today. Please have them placed in the apartment. And I ordered an additional bed online. It will be delivered later. I do not expect you to share your bed with me unless you want to.”

“I don’t know Sheldon. We have a lot of stuff to figure out. I don’t know if we even will. I need you to understand that at this moment I have no intention of returning to California. And I also don’t intend to ask you to stay. I have a lot of questions for both of you. You have a lot of questions for me. I just don’t know whether any of those questions even have answers.”

“I understand. This is unexpected. Please understand that we did not come with the intention of bringing you home. We are here to help. And we would like to get to know Rene and Carli if we can.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

Sheldon went back up to the apartment to make phone calls and send emails and establish a schedule. Despite Penny having forbidden it, he still intended to take a trip to New Jersey at some point.

Rene and Nora continued speaking over coffee.

“I can tell you aren’t happy about what happened between me and Sheldon.”

“Was I supposed to be?”

“No.”

“Then why.”

“Alex and I talked about it a lot before we even thought of speaking to him. It isn’t just about the possibility of Penelope being a beautiful mind. To be honest, we’ve seen the pain that brought Sheldon. Over the years he’s learned to hide it really well. His routines aren’t as absolute as they used to be. You can switch gears without freaking him out so much. He accepts us touching him much more easily. But there’s a part of him that we can’t reach. The part that holds all the pain. The part where you live.”

“I know. He keeps throwing details at me, talking about things that happened. But he won’t say how he feels about any of it. I got him a little angry last night. But he hates conflict so. And the thing is I’m probably just as closed off as he is. In a way, I’m glad he has you and Penelope. I’m glad. Even though I wish it was me…”

Rene started crying uncontrollably. Nora put her arm around her.

“Sweetie, go ahead. I have a feeling these won’t be the last tears that are shed while we’re here. This isn’t going to be easy for any of us but especially for you two. You two have one of those great loves. I know he loves you with all his heart and always has. And I’m pretty sure you love him just as much. Please try to get past all the years and the crap and the geography. Don’t let Leonard and Kurt win. You guys need to be together. It’s the only way the world makes sense.”

“I know what you’re saying. But there’s also another thing I know. Sheldon is really angry at me. He’s hiding it but it’s there. And it’s going to come out. It has to. And I know it won’t be pretty. And I fucking deserve it.”

“Damn it, you don’t. You don’t!”

“I do. I should have stayed. I should have fought for our happiness instead of running away. He deserved to be able to raise Cyndee. He deserved to be able to have a family with me. I took that from him. He may say the words but I don’t think he’ll ever really forgive me for that.”

“There is nothing in this world that he wants more than to be with you forever. And yeah, there’s that part of him that he doesn’t want to let out. Penny, I beg you, fight for Sheldon. Want him. Don’t give up. You two deserve to be happy. And we all want our family to be whole. We all deserve that. And I hate to say it, but it’s on you. All this other stuff, the business, Kurt, even Leonard…it’s all crap. You and Sheldon are what’s important. You two are the heart and soul of our family.”

“So no pressure.”

“Fuck that. Decide what you want, Penny. Figure it out. All of the pieces are in play. Decide. Don’t let me make your decision. Don’t let Kurt make it. Don’t even let Sheldon make it. You alone can figure out what your future will or won’t be.”

“Thanks, Nora. Make it easy for me.”

“Not a fucking chance. Anyway, I’m going out for a walk around the neighborhood, maybe go check out the park for a while. I’m going to hang out in here tonight. I won’t do anything. I just want to see what’s happening. I suspect it’ll bother Kurt some but he’ll go right back to doing whatever he’s been doing pretty darn quick. If you decide to toss him, I want you to be able to do it knowing exactly what he’s been up to.”

“Okay. Then I’m going to talk to Carli tonight. And I promise that Kurt won’t find his way into my bed again. I swear.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I suspect that the best way to keep him out of your bed is to have someone else in it. I prefer it be Sheldon, but if I have to…”

“Miss me that much, huh?”

“Sweetie, you’re good but Alex…wow. Sorry. And you might have another thing you need to talk to Cyndee about.”

“Huh?”

“She’s a smart kid. She figured out you and me.”

“Crap. So you two actually came here to completely destroy my life.”

“Well, we let you do it by yourself for a long time. We wanted a shot. Though I’m pretty sure that we can’t reveal anything else to her. All that’s left is stuff you didn’t even tell us.”

“Yeah, that makes me feel so much better. Go. Take your walk. I’ll see you later.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

**11**

 

Nora enjoyed her walk around Park Slope. She wandered down to 7th Avenue and had a slice of pizza. Everyone was right. New York pizza was better. It just was. She stopped into a bagel shop and picked up the makings of the next morning’s breakfast. She was, at least for the time being, a New Yorker and she was determined to eat like one.

She quickly stopped by the apartment to drop off the things she’d picked up and tell Sheldon when to meet her for dinner at _Wackadoodle’s_. Sheldon was busy Skyping with Raj about something but acknowledged that he accepted the plans. Nora then left the apartment again and took a left, heading to Prospect Park, where she wandered for a bit, found the Long Meadow and then sat down on the grass under a tree, took out her cell and called Alex.

“Hi, sweetie.”

“So?”

“I have no idea how long this will take.”

“How is she?”

“I don’t know how she was before we got here, but right now I think she’s ready to blow.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“Wish I knew. All I do know is it’s necessary.”

“How’s Sheldon?”

“She picked up on it right away.”

“The anger?”

“Yup.”

“So you’ve put yourself right in the middle of a time bomb.”

“The analogy isn’t quite right. You know when a time bomb is going to go off.”

“Point.”

“And we both know I’m the only one who can do this.”

“Yeah. But there’s still a chance that they’ll both end up hating your guts.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take. I refuse to allow my two best friends to live the rest of their lives separate and miserable. I can feel that they still love each other.”

“Is that going to be enough?”

“I hope so once I remove the distractions.”

“How’s that going?”

“It starts tonight. How’s the munchkin?”

“She misses both of you something awful.”

“It’s only been a day.”

“It’s the first day ever that she hasn’t had both of you.”

“She has you.”

“Yeah. I’m taking her to work with me tomorrow. Howard’s bring her to JPL on Monday.”

“She loves field trips. Please try to avoid any accidents that might turn her into a super villain.”

“I will. Will you Skype her again tomorrow?”

“Of course. I’ll email you a time later.”

“I miss you, too. I’m not very happy with the sleeping alone.”

“Bullshit. I’m sure you let Penelope sleep in your bed last night.”

“Well you probably had Sheldon.”

“Actually, no. I had Cyndee. Sheldon was with Penny all night.”

“That’s good, right.”

“It’s not bad. But they’ve both been really quiet. Penny bursts into tears a lot. I think she doesn’t like being faced with what she lost. Sheldon doesn’t quite know what to do. It’s a pretty weird dynamic. Anyway, I’ve got to head back and get ready to watch the restaurant tonight.”

“That should be fun.”

“Yeah, you’ve never seen what I do to make an employee I don’t like uncomfortable. It will actually be fun.”

“Okay. Remind me never to put myself in that position.”

“Oh there are a number of positions I’d like to put you in but that isn’t one of them.”

“Thanks. Get me horny when you’re three thousand miles away.”

“Well, now I know you’ll be thinking of me.”

“Like there was ever any doubt. I love you, Nora.”

“I love you too, Alex. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Nora wiped away a tear, got up and headed back to the apartment. She decided to take a little nap before going down to the restaurant. At about 7 she headed down.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**12**

Before she went upstairs to speak with her daughter Rene had a little chat with one of her long-time waitresses and introduced her to Nora.

“Janie, here’s the deal. I have some Carli stuff to deal with. My friend Nora here is in charge. She and my friend Sheldon will be having dinner later. Sheldon is very particular about how his food is prepared but I know how he likes it and we’re fine. However, nothing that goes to their table is to come into contact with Kurt. Nothing. They’ll be drinking bottled water and tea prepared in the kitchen. This is really important.”

“No problem, ma’am. I never want to go near that guy or his friends anyway. They treat us like we’re their property. Groping and pinching and leering. It’s disgusting.”

“Yeah, well, his time is almost up. Kurt!”

“What.”

“I have some stuff to do. My friend Nora is in charge while I’m gone.”

“Bull Shit. I’m in charge of the bar.”

“No Kurt. You _think_ you’re in charge of the bar. And we already know what you think with. Anything comes up, it’s Nora’s call. Not yours.”

“Fine. People come here to see me, not you. And certainly not some dyke. Just try and screw with how I run the bar. I dare you.”

 “You two will play nice. I’ll be upstairs. I’d rather not be disturbed. Nora, if you have to do anything I prefer you clean up the bodies before I come back down. And Kurt, don’t assume that you can come up after closing a fuck me into changing my mind. You’ll get a very unpleasant, very painful surprise.”

“Y’know, fer two women who say you want nothing to do with me you talk about my dick a hell of a lot. Maybe you two just want a party.”

“Kurt, your dick defines you. And any party that involves the three of us will be the last party you ever attend. Now clean up your damn bar and set it up for the night.”

While Nora kept an eye on Kurt, Penny headed up to her apartment to have a long-overdue chat with her daughter.

“Hi mom. I picked up some Chinese. I figured you wouldn’t want to cook.”

“You figured right. Come over and sit down. We need to talk.”

“Still pissed about Sheldon and Nora.”

“Yeah. But that’s for later. Right now it’s time we talked about you.”

“What about me?”

“Where you came from?”

“Mom, we had that talk a long time ago.”

“Not this one. Okay, this isn’t exactly easy for me.”

“Mom, I know more than you think.”

“Sweetie, you don’t know shit. It’s my story. I get to tell it.”

“Okay.”

“When I was your age I left my parents’ farm in Nebraska to go to California and become a big movie star. I didn’t leave alone. I left with Kurt. I thought I was in love with him.”

“How long were you with him?”

“Almost four years.”

“I don’t understand.”

“To be honest, I don’t really understand it myself. I guess I was stupid and I thought I was in love and I was willing to do anything for him.”

“Not sure I want to hear about that.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m not going to share all the details. What I will tell you is that he was unfaithful almost from the start but I let it go. He hardly ever worked and I worked all the time. I had to battle with him over every little thing. We fought over every audition. I had to sneak away to take classes at the local college because he didn’t want to pay for them and he didn’t want me meeting anyone. I’d be at work or at school and he’d be at home fucking the neighbor or neighbors. I knew it but I let it go because he was all I had. Finally he just up and left. He cleaned out our bank account, took every decent piece of jewelry I had and hocked it and he even took the TV. He didn’t leave hardly anything.”

“What did you do?”

“I had become friends with Nora at school and she saved my life. She convinced me to take a job dancing at Manny’s and let me sleep on her couch instead of in my car until I had enough money to get my own place.”

“So you guys have known each other for a long time.”

“She’s my oldest friend. And she’s been a much better friend to me than I’ve been to her.”

“When I told her you needed her she didn’t think twice about coming.”

“Yeah. Anyway, about a month after Kurt split I found out that he didn’t quite leave me empty-handed.”

“Me.”

“Yeah. You. I never thought twice about having you. I still think it’s the best decision I ever made. But here’s the thing. I never told him. I knew where he was but I never told him. And I never will.”

“So he has no idea that he has a kid. That he’s my father.”

“He’s not your father. He’s nothing but a sperm donor. Sheldon is your father.”

“I know that, mom. I do. And I want that asshole Kurt out of our lives. Why do you let him stay?”

“I wish I had an answer. At first, I guess I was lonely. It had been so long. And then it went right back to how it was before. Me supporting him and him taking advantage.”

“I’m not blind.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re a lot smarter than I was at your age.”

“Thanks.”

“Not entirely sure that was a compliment.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Well, I’m probably going to take up Nora and Sheldon on their offer to help me get rid of him. It’s not going to be easy and I will need their help. It’s probably going to be messy around here while that happens and I want you to be extra careful.”

“I can take care of myself, Mom.”

“I know you can. It’s just that with what’s going to happen with Kurt and the stuff that’s likely to happen with me an Sheldon...”

“What going to happen with you and Sheldon?”

“I really hurt him, sweetie. I know he doesn’t act like it. I know he makes it seem as though we could walk back into his life like nothing ever happened but I know him. He’s angry with me. He doesn’t really trust me. And there’s a part of him that wants to run away from me, run fast and run far.”

“Mom, I hate to say this but in this relationship you’re the one who’s been doing the running. He’s still in the same place he was ten years ago.”

“Fair point. The thing you have to know is that our relationship is really the first one Sheldon was ever in. At least it was the first one he was aware that he was in. When I left I’m pretty sure I broke him and I’m not sure I’m the one to fix him.”

“He’s not the only one who’s broken, Mom. And I do know for sure he’s the only one who can fix you.”

“How did you ever get to be so insightful?”

“I’ve been here for this whole ride. Whether you intended to or not, our entire life is set up as a monument to your love for Sheldon. You named us after his favorite character. We eat on his schedule. You named our bar after him. You’ve been mourning him for ten years and he’s still alive and right now he’s just a few feet away. And you know he loves you. And you love him. Oh, and I bought myself some noise-cancelling headphones because I figure there’s going to be a lot of arguing and fighting. Maybe even some fucking and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to hear that. But if you don’t at least try to fix things with him I will never, ever forgive you.”

“I guess I have a bunch of things to figure out.”

“You do. But first we get rid of the asshole. Forever. I want him out of our place and out of our lives and you’d better not fuck him again and I sure hope you were using protection. If I’m ever going to have another baby brother or sister Sheldon better be the father.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Asshole first. After that I just don’t know.”

“Mom, can I ask you one other thing?”

“Sure.”

“What was Nora like in bed?”

Penny turned bright red.

“Can we have that conversation another time? And in answer to the questions you really want to ask. Yes, Sheldon pretty much always knew about me and Nora and no, there was never a three-way, even though Nora really, really tried.”

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

Nora took a seat at a two-person corner table and nursed a cup of tea. She watched as people came into the restaurant. There were couples, some families. It was nice and fairly comfortable. At about nine things started to change. A couple of guys came in and hung out at the bar with Kurt. They were fairly loud and the restaurant cleared out pretty quickly. It was as though the regular customers knew that _Wackadoodle’s_ was not a place to be after 9pm.

Nora told Sheldon to meet her for dinner at 9:30. She was positive that his body clock was still on California time and wanted to make sure that he wasn’t even more uncomfortable than he already was. Sheldon came in the front door, looked disgustedly at Kurt behind the bar, found Nora and joined her.

“Hi, sweetie.”

“Hello, Nora.”

“Get anything accomplished today.”

“Indeed. I had an extended discussion with Raj about a project we are working on, made arrangements to lecture at NYU and Columbia University and did a bit of research on my former colleague and roommate. I also received an almost indecipherable email from Penelope.”

“Yeah, I got that too. She may be able to read and write, but she doesn’t quite understand spellcheck. Alex and I are such lousy spellers we forget to turn the thing off before she uses the computer.”

“I prefer to look at it as Penelope-speak. But it makes a great deal more sense than the language Amy Farrah Fowler created and once attempted to teach me. That was utter nonsense.”

“Sheldon, I know what we’re doing is going to force us to travel down memory lane somewhat but there are some stops I prefer not remembering. She’s one.”

“Agreed. Additionally I do not like thinking about what her monkeys ultimately did to her. I liked monkeys quite a lot before I heard about that.”

“Yeah, well don’t forget what she did to those poor monkeys.”

“True. Her fate did seem somewhat poetic.”

“What are you planning to do about Leonard?”

“Please don’t tell Rene but I have arranged to give my lecture about women in science at the junior college he teaches at. It has proven to be quite popular over the years. As he is only adjunct faculty and only female students will be invited he will not be aware of the arrangements.”

Janie the waitress came over to take their orders.

“Sheldon, this is Janie and she’s one of Rene’s favorites. She will take proper care of your order.”

“Thank you, Nora. Please place your order first.”

“I’ll have a Chicken Caesar Sandwich, with dressing on the side and a bottled water.”

“And I’ll have a Barbeque Bacon Cheeseburger with the barbeque sauce, cheese and bacon on the side and a virgin diet _Cuba Libre_ with a lime.”

“Sheldon, Kurt would be preparing that drink.”

“Thank you, Nora. Then I’ll have a bottled water, please.”

“I’ll place your order and I’ll be right back from the kitchen with your waters.”

“Thank you, Janie.”

“Sheldon, please excuse me if it seems as though I’m not paying attention to you. I’m trying to keep an eye on Kurt and what he’s doing at the bar.”

“Have you seen anything of note?”

“Quite a bit, but I can’t say anything now.”

“I understand.”

“Sheldon, do you have plans to speak with Rene tonight.”

“We had not made specific plans but I do intend to at least visit her to say good night.”

“Good idea. I have a funny feeling you’ll be bunking with her again tonight.”

“I do not wish to put undue pressure upon her.”

“I kind think you need to.”

“Nora?”

“Sheldon, we both know that you prefer to avoid conflict. And Penny would prefer to not have to face what she did. I’ll tell you right now I’m not going to let either of those things happen.”

“But Penny said she prefers to not speak of the past.”

“I think someone famous once said those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it.”

“Spanish philosopher George Santayana’s exact quote is “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it” but I take your meaning.”

“Sheldon, I’ll be blunt. I want the two of you back together and I will do whatever I need to do to make that happen. And I really don’t care if that makes both of you hate me. Now, hold on, we’ll continue this in a minute. Don’t turn around.”

Nora saw Janie begin to approach them with their food when Kurt demanded she come to the bar. Janie nervously looked toward Nora and Nora nodded it was okay. She had a feeling she knew what was about to happen. She saw Kurt’s pals move to block her view of the bar. Janie then nervously approached Nora and Sheldon with their food.

“Janie, I saw what happened. It’s not your fault and please behave as though you’re doing exactly what Kurt wants you to do. He put something in our food didn’t he?”

“Hot sauce. He drenched both of your sandwiches with it.”

“It’s okay. Sheldon, don’t touch it. Janie, go ahead back to the kitchen and have them get started on replacing these. Leave them with me.”

“Okay. I’m really sorry.”

“Really, it’s okay. You may want to find yourself a good spot to watch the show. Sheldon, you’ll like this too.”

Nora picked up the dishes and went over to Kurt at the bar.

“Kurt, we started off on the wrong foot. We’re kind of busy and you probably won’t have a chance to take a dinner break. Why don’t you take a seat and eat this burger and your pals can split the other sandwich while we have a few minutes. I’ll cover the bar.”

“I really couldn’t do that. Rene doesn’t like us eating in front of the customers.”

“Rene said I’m in charge and I really don’t have a problem with it.”

“I’m really not hungry and neither are my friends.”

“Eat the burger, Kurt.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Kurt, I’m starting to think there might be something wrong with it. Is there something wrong with the burger, Kurt?”

“No. There’s nothing wrong.”

“Eat it. And you two, start on the chicken sandwich.”

As the three of them slowly started to eat, Nora took the opportunity to grab their drinks.

“These probably need refills,” she said with a smile on her face.”

Kurt took a bite and glared at Nora.

“See. I ate it.”

“All of it, Kurt.”

As Kurt and his cronies continued to eat their faces got redder and redder and they started to sweat profusely.

“Water,” said Kurt, clearly in discomfort.

Nora poured a glass of water and, making sure the other customers couldn’t see her but Kurt could, spat in it. She then placed it in front of him.

“There’s your water. Now finish eating. I’m not leaving until those plates are clean.”

Kurt and his pals cleaned their plates and looked very uncomfortable.

Nora glared at Kurt. “I hope you and your pals have learned a little lesson. You aren’t in charge of a fucking thing around here. In a little while you’ll learn that even includes your bowel movements. Try to fuck with me and mine and I will fuck with you and I’m a whole lot better at it. Now get back to work and put a smile on your face. And, by the way, the cost of those meals is coming out of your pay.”

Nora left the bar and rejoined Sheldon. Janie was already over at the table with their new meals.

“That was amazing. I’m going to be telling people about that for years.”

“Thanks, sweetie, but do me a favor and leave out the spitting in his drink.”

“Not a problem. I guess there’s a new sheriff in town.”

“You got that right. If he ever pulls any shit like that I want to hear about it. And if he says a fucking word to you or any of the other staff I want to hear about that too.”

“You will.”

Janie left with a big smile on her face.

“Nora, do you really believe that was wise?”

“I didn’t start it, Sheldon. He did. Bullies need to be stopped right away.”

“I suspect he will formulate a plan for vengeance.”

“He probably will. But he’s not an evil genius. He’s a thug. And he’ll do something a thug would do. I’ve been running a strip club for a long time. Do you think I’m not able to handle a joker like him?”

“Nora, I’m fairly certain that he should be the one who should be scared. It’s just that, as you said earlier, I prefer to avoid conflict.”

“And as I said earlier, I have a different philosophy. Besides, Kurt thought he would be the one bringing the fight. Now he’s on the defensive. And I prefer to be on the offensive.”

“Nora, what is your plan?”

“Basically I want Kurt out of the way so we can start working on what’s really important.”

“Do I want to know?”

“Probably not. How’s your dinner?”

“Quite delicious. Rene clearly has learned more about food preparation than she previously knew.”

“Good, I’m glad. Mine’s good too.

Sheldon finished his dinner and said he was going back to the apartment for a little while but promised that he would say goodnight to Carli and Rene.

The restaurant was sparsely populated until closing at 2:00am. The kitchen and wait staff had departed leaving just Nora and Kurt.

Nora turned out the lights in the kitchen and had just walked into the restaurant heading to the front door to close up for the night when Kurt grabbed her from behind.

“I did not appreciate that shit you pulled. Now I’m gonna teach you a lesson.”

Nora knew exactly what to do. She stamped on his foot as hard as she could and then elbowed him in the stomach. She then moved behind him and while he was off-balance kicked him to the floor. Putting her foot on his neck she leaned down and removed his keys and wallet from his back pockets.

Nora then took her cell phone out of her pocket and removed her foot from Kurt’s neck and backed up towards the bar, reaching for the bat she knew was there.

“Get out, Kurt. Get out now or I’m calling the cops and charging you with assault.”

“You got my keys. How am I supposed to get in my place?”

“You’re not. You can talk to Rene about your keys tomorrow.”

“Where am I supposed to sleep?”

“Try the park.”

“This isn’t over.”

“Oh, it’s over Kurt. You’re just too stupid to know it.”

Nora put her phone down on the bar and advanced on Kurt with the bat. He backed away and out the door. She decided she’d probably need to bring the bat with her as she finished closing the place and headed back to the apartment. Nora made sure that Kurt didn’t follow her in and she went up to Apartment 2. She smiled when she noticed it was empty. She sat down and sent Rene a text.

**< INTERESTING NT. WE SHLD TLK 1ST THING 2MORROW>**

Nora was a little surprised when she got a text back.

**< C’MON UP>**

 


	14. Chapter 14

**14**

 

Nora knocked on the door to Rene’s apartment and Carli answered.

“Hi. We’ve been watching _Star Trek_.”

“How’d your talk with your mom go?”

“You knew about that, huh. It went pretty well. Didn’t really learn a lot but I guess it was stuff she really needed to say.”

“And you.”

“Told her that even if Kurt is my biological father I want nothing to do with him and that we’d both be better off without him.”

“Anything else?”

“That I want her and Sheldon to be back together.”

“What did she say?”

“She ducked it.”

“Not surprised there. Where are they?”

“On the couch. It’s really cute. As long as they aren’t talking they won’t leave an inch of space between them. As soon as they speak it’s like a wall goes up.”

“They’ve spent a long time armoring themselves. Nothing real is going to happen until they break through that.”

“And they won’t do that without help.”

“You got that right.”

_“What are you two plotting over there?”_

“I suspect they are discussing us,” added Sheldon.

“Oh, I’m so shocked,” responded Rene sarcastically.

Nora and Carli joined Rene and Sheldon on a rather large couch.

“So I guess Sheldon updated you on the goings-on downstairs?”

“He said it could wait and we’ve sort of been otherwise occupied.”

“Yeah, I can see. You probably need to know because I suspect Kurt will find his way to you at some point soon.”

“What did he do?”

“First, let me tell you how he’s running the bar. He’s definitely skimming. Early in the evening he’s basically pocketing every third drink. Once his pals show up he’s not so discerning. He takes almost all the cash. And they never pay. I’m just guessing here, but based on the traffic and the credit card receipts he probably pocketed about $500 tonight. And it wouldn’t surprise me if he was also doing something with the credit cards.”

“And he still complains that I’m not paying him enough.”

“Yeah. He also tried the old hot sauce trick on our dinner.”

“Janie wasn’t supposed to let him touch your food. I’m gonna need to speak to her.”

“Not her fault, sweetie. I kinda signaled to her that it was okay.”

“So you set him up?”

“No, I let Kurt be Kurt.”

“So you let him dose your food. What did you do? Call him on it?”

“Better.”

“It really was quite enjoyable to watch. Nora marched over to them carrying our poisoned dinner and forced them to eat it.”

“You’re kidding,” responded Rene.

“Oh man. And we _missed_ this?” added Carli.

“I really did enjoy it.”

“You better watch your back. Kurt isn’t the kind of guy to let something like that pass.”

“Yeah. I figured that and I wasn’t wrong. He kind of attacked me after the place as closed.”

“What?”

“Yeah, it was kind of classic. He grabbed me from behind. I suspect he thought that would be having his way with me.”

Carli’s eyes opened wide. “What did you do?”

“Pretty basic self defense. Three moves and he was sprawled on the floor with my foot on his neck. Then I grabbed the bat and chased him out.”

“Nora, he doesn’t need to go far. He lives downstairs.”

“I’m not stupid.”

Nora tossed Kurt’s keys to Rene.

“He’s not getting back into the building before he speaks to you. By the way, I grabbed his wallet too. There was over $2000 in it and I’m betting that most of it is yours.”

“Nora, I told you not to do anything.”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t planning to do anything but watch the guy. He decided to do something. I just responded appropriately. Did you want me to sit back and take it like you?”

“That’s not fair.”

“I think it kind of is.”

“Carli, maybe you should head to bed.”

“No, Mom. I’m part of this. I want to know what you’re going to do.”

“I guess first thing in the morning I’m calling the locksmith. Nora, can you and Sheldon go into Kurt’s apartment, get his crap together and bring it down to the restaurant. I suspect there isn’t much there besides clothes and a bed. Leave the bed. I’ll get the kitchen guys to bring that and anything else that weighs anything down. When Kurt comes in for his keys and his wallet I’ll fire him. Nora, do you want to call the police and file charges?”

“Let’s keep that in our back pocket. Do you know anyone in the local precinct?”

“Yeah. There are a couple of guys who come in fairly regularly. The local precinct captain has been in a couple of times.”

“If I read Kurt right, and I haven’t been wrong so far, he and some of his pals will come by tomorrow night to raise a ruckus. It might be smart to have the right kind of patrons around.”

“I guess I can invite them in for dinner.”

“Except for you firing him, I think we can let Kurt do all the heavy lifting here. You might want to set something up to record what happens. It should provide us with hours of enjoyment in the future.”

“So it looks like we’re gong to have another fun day at Rene’s tomorrow.”

“Can we get back to what’s going on up here?”

“What? We’re watching _Star Trek_.”

“It’s three in the morning.”

“What’s your point?”

“You three sitting on the couch together watching _Star Trek_?

“Don’t read any more into it than that, Nora. Please?”

“Okay. One step at a time, I guess. I’m going downstairs to crash. Sheldon, shall I assume you’re staying here?”

“Rene?”

“Yeah, Sheldon’s staying here. Do you need Carli to keep you company, Nora?”

“I’m fine, sweetie. Just fine.”

“Yeah. And I have my headphones.”

“You won’t need your damn headphones, missy.”

“Wishful thinking, I guess. I’m going to bed too.”

After Nora and Carli left them alone Sheldon turned to Rene.

“Penny, what _are_ we doing?”

“Sheldon, right now we’re just being together. I don’t want to think any further than that. Is that okay?”

“That’s acceptable. For now.”

 


	15. Chapter 15

**15**

 

_Late the following morning_

Nora knocked on Rene’s door. She tentatively opened it.

“You ready for the fireworks?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Sorry about that. I got up early and packed all of Kurt’s crap. It’s all downstairs ready for pickup. You were right. There was nothing in there but a mattress and clothes. But I don’t think he ever opened a window. The place stinks of sex and beer. That’s not you, is it?”

“No. I haven’t set foot in the place since he moved himself in.”

“So he was actually up here?”

“Please don’t remind me.”

“Sorry babe, but until things are set right I’m here to remind you of every freaking mistake you ever made until you finally realize what you did right.”

“Gee, thanks. What did I ever do to deserve you?” Rene responded sarcastically.

“Don’t mention it. Now, I don’t know if he’s down there now but he probably will be soon. You’re gonna do this. I’ll be close by with the bat but you’ll be doing the heavy lifting.”

Sheldon emerged from the bathroom.

“Shall I come with you?”

“Actually, sweetie, I’d prefer you didn’t. You don’t like fighting much, anyway. If I get in trouble Nora can handle it I’m sure. In fact, Kurt should hope Nora doesn’t get involved.”

“Alright then. I’ll be up here with Carli.”

Rene and Nora headed down the stairs and weren’t terribly surprised to find Kurt out front waiting for them.

“If you don’t get rid of that bitch there’s gonna be trouble.”

“Kurt, there’s already been trouble and you’re right, I do need to get rid of something.”

“Hah. That’ll teach you. I’m in charge here.”

“No, Kurt. I’m getting rid of you. You’re fired. Leave.”

“You can’t fire me. I’m the only reason you have any business at all.”

“Actually, Kurt, I’m the only reason _you_ have any business at all. From my reckoning, ever since you got here you’ve made more money than my business has. How do you think that happened?”

“People love me.”

“No, Kurt. It happened because you’ve been stealing from me. Just like you did in California. I want you out of my life. Just go.”

“I’m not going anywhere without my stuff and you owe me money. That bitch stole my wallet.”

“Your stuff is over there in the black plastic bags with the garbage. You’ve got till midnight tonight to pick it up.”

“What about my bed?”

Nora interjected. “We were all afraid to touch your mattress. The kitchen staff is going up there in a while in hazmat suits to wrap it in plastic. We’ll bring it downstairs then. You’d better pick it up before the sanitation department labels that stuff all over it as toxic waste.”

“I want my money.”

“Once again, Kurt, I’m pretty sure that was my money in your wallet. Here’s $50 to cover last night. As far as I’m concerned I don’t owe you another cent. Now fuck off and don’t ever come back here again.”

“I’m not done with you. I’m not done with either of you.”

“Come back and we’ll call the cops.”

“If I come back I won’t be alone.”

“You always were pretty brave Kurt. I’m not surprised that you’re gonna round up a gang to go after a couple of women. I guess it’s the steroids. You’re just not the man you used to think you were.”

“I’m plenty man enough to handle you.”

“Kurt, just fuck off. And by the way, since I actually can compare, you are much less of a man than you used to be. Much less.”

At that, Nora guided Rene into the restaurant and they locked the door behind them.

“That was fun.”

“No, what happens later will be the real fun. Did you arrange for tonight’s guests?”

“Yeah. Captain Tuttle had other dinner plans but he said he’d switch them to here. If Kurt comes by to make trouble he’ll be in for a big surprise. In the meantime we need to get the place ready for a big night. Are you ready to handle the bar?”

“The way I feel right now I could handle the bar and do a couple of sets.”

“Yeah… I think maybe you should keep your clothes on. Besides, I thought you were retired from that.”

“Publicly, yeah. But I still put on a private show now and then at the club for just one guest.”

“I don’t think I want to hear about that.”

“For Alex. Sheldon stopped going to the club except for Thanksgiving a long time ago.”

“When I left?”

“Yeah.”

“And you never do anything like that for him?”

“Penny, it’s not like that. Mainly when we get together he wants to be held. The other stuff kind of happens but what we do isn’t about sex. It’s about loneliness. For a few minutes he doesn’t feel so alone.”

“Except when you were trying for Penelope.”

“Sorry to burst your jealousy bubble but that happened on our first try. We were both pretty surprised.”

“I’m not really sure I want to hear the details.”

“And I’m not sure I want to share them. All I can say is that the love that Sheldon and I have for each other is nothing like what you guys had and I hope will have again. I’m not really sure I can explain it any better than that.”

“I wouldn’t be so optimistic if I were you.”

“There you go putting up that fucking wall again. You really have to understand that wall doesn’t really protect you as much as it holds all your hurt and pain inside.”

“And maybe that’s what it should do.”

“Sounds to me like you’re starting up a pity party and right now you don’t have the fucking time. Kurt did a number on your business and tonight is your first chance to put things back the way they’re supposed to be. Tomorrow we start looking for a new staff to replace the folks he chased away. Did he bring anyone on board?”

“No. He was too busy chasing people away. All the shifts he wasn’t on are pretty much intact.”

“Good. Now do what you need to do to set up for later. I’ll take care of the bar.”

A couple of hours later Penny got a call. Nora watched her face light up and then turn to worry.

“What’s up?”

“I just found out who’s coming with the Captain. Tonight could be a make it or break it night and Kurt coming in will be the least of our worries.”

“Who is it?”

“It’s still iffy so I don’t want to say. But people will be coming by to check the place out in a bit.”

“Wow.”

An hour later a man and a woman in suits came into _Wackadoddle’s_ and checked the place out completely. They checked staff IDs and also looked at the reservation list.”

“Looks like with the Captain’s party your pretty full up tonight.”

“Yup.”

“We suggest you not take any more reservations.”

“We really weren’t going to.”

“Just a heads up. The folks the Captain has coming usually show up a little late. It’s nothing to worry about. It’s just them. If they aren’t coming at all you’ll know in plenty of time.”

“Okay?”

And everyone went back to what they were doing.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**16**

_That night_

Rene made sure to hold a table for Carli and Sheldon. She didn’t want them to miss the big evening. Even without Captain Tuttle and his party _Wackadoodle’s_ was doing pretty good business. The big table in the back of the restaurant was beginning to look conspicuously empty when the Captain finally showed up with his party, the Mayor and his wife and another gentlemen Rene didn’t recognize and his wife. Rene seated them herself and the Captain introduced her.

“This is Rene. She owns the place. It’s been a neighborhood staple for a while now.”

“I know,” said the Mayor. “I lived a couple of blocks away. I used to come here a lot.”

“I remember,” said Rene. “We’ve missed you.”

“Well, I try to get out to the old neighborhood as much as I can. If you’re still serving that fried pasta appetizer you might find us here a lot more often.”

“It’s still on the menu.”

“Then let’s have some of that all around. We’ll have the rest of our order ready when that comes out.”

“Sounds good, Mr. Mayor.”

“Hey, didn’t you used to have a little girl?”

“Yup. My daughter, Carli. She’s over there with the blue hair. She’s getting ready to go to USC Film School.”

“You must be very proud. The man she’s with looks familiar.”

“He’s a theoretical physicist, Dr. Sheldon Cooper from CalTech. He’s an old friend.”

“I’ve actually heard him lecture. Would you mind introducing us?”

“Not at all. I’ll warn you though, Sheldon is kind of an acquired taste.”

“People have said the same thing about me. I like smart people.”

“Um, like I said. Sheldon will tell you himself that he’d have to lose a bunch of IQ points to be called smart. I’m pretty sure that he’ll uncover the secrets of the universe eventually.”

“Please bring him over. Your daughter too.”

Nora watched all this from the bar. Rene was beaming. Suddenly there was a ruckus at the door. Of course Kurt and his buddies would pick this moment to barge in loudly.

Kurt glared at Rene.

“I told you that you couldn’t keep me out of here,” he bellowed.

The Mayor got up from his table and came over to Rene.

“Is this guy giving you any trouble?”

Rene looked at Kurt, then at Sheldon, then back at Kurt and then at the Mayor.

“Actually, he used to work here. He was stealing from me. I fired him and told him to never come back.”

Kurt glared at the Mayor.

“What the fuck do you think you can do?”

“Me?” the Mayor answered. “Nothing. The gentlemen behind you? They’re the ones you need to be concerned with.”

Suddenly Kurt and his buddies were on their knees being handcuffed. As they were being led out of _Wackadoodle’s_ the Captain came over to have a final word.

“You boys should now realize that you’re not welcome here or anywhere around here. You’ll be spending the night in jail. We’ll make absolutely sure that there are no outstanding warrants on you anywhere in the world before you get released. Now after you’ve paid your fine for disturbing the peace, if you have the money, you’ll find yourselves another place to go, a place far away. You just got the Mayor of New York pissed off at you. And the other guy at our table, he’s the Police Commissioner. So, you’d be real smart if you learned how to be invisible.”

As Kurt and his pals were led off to jail the customers at _Wackadoodle’s_ applauded. Rene gave the Mayor a big hug, followed by an apology to his wife.

“Thank you. Besides stealing from me that guy has been chasing away my regulars. Now my business can get back to normal.”

“Actually, I suspect once news gets around the neighborhood you’ll be looking at normal in the rear mirror. I suspect you’ll be pretty busy.”

“Thank you. Okay, now back to where we were before we got interrupted, you remember my daughter Carli…”

“Hello Mr. Mayor.”

“And this is Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper. He’s sort of my husband.”

Sheldon was a little shocked and he could see from the expression on Nora’s face at the bar, so was she. It was the first time Rene had admitted in public to even having a husband.

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mayor. And let me compliment you on your handling of those miscreants.”

“The pleasure is mine, Dr. Cooper. I attended one of your lectures a few years ago. I believe it was on magnetic monopoles.”

“I’m surprised a politician would be interested in such things.”

“I’ve learned that it makes sense for a successful politician, much like a physicist, to be interested in the entire universe and how it works. Would you two like to join us at our table?”

“It would be our pleasure.”

Rene was aghast. She had never seen someone immediately able to not only deal with Sheldon, but to pique his interest. This promised to be an interesting evening.

 

 

_A/N: Just a quick note to let you know that I’m not being completely unrealistic here, even though this is fiction. I know the Park Slope neighborhood very well. The new Mayor of New York does, in fact, have a home in Park Slope two blocks from the theoretical location of Wackadoodle’s. Even after assuming office he’s been spotted on the street and he does still pop in to his old haunts. And he’s almost always late._

 


	17. Chapter 17

_Late Friday/early Saturday_

When Rene and Nora closed up at the end of the night they were both exhausted. They trudged upstairs. Nora went into Apartment 2 and collapsed on the bed. Rene continued up to her place. It was quiet except for the TV, which had a _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ rerun playing. Sheldon and Carli were both curled up asleep on the couch. Rene put a blanket over them, turned off the TV and went to bed. She woke up early the next morning with Sheldon asleep next to her. She knew she would need to figure out what she wanted to do. First, she went back to sleep.

Sheldon arose early. He had to speak with Nora.

“I need to go to New Jersey to see exactly what the situation is with Leonard Hofstadter.”

“Okay. When would you like to go?”

“ _Wackadoodle’s_ is closed Mondays, correct?”

“Yep.”

“Could we rent a vehicle for the day?”

“Sure. But what’s your plan?”

“For the time being I just want to gather information. Though I certainly feel that I can make things uncomfortable for him, I am not the one that needs to challenge Leonard.”

“Rene needs to do it.”

“More correctly, Penny needs to do it. Rene is the guise she is hiding under. Penny needs to come out from behind her walls and deal with Leonard once and for all. Until she does I believe she will continue to hide and though she may act as though we are together it will not actually be the truth.”

“There’s another reason, isn’t there?”

“Yes.”

“Spill it.”

“I believe that through convincing Penny to confront Leonard I will be forced to deal with my own demons and confront Penny about abandoning our marriage.”

“Finally figured that out, huh?”

“As I watched Kurt being dealt with over the last two days, I realized that while I found it satisfying, it didn’t resolve anything for me. I was gratified that Rene would be safe from him but I felt no closure. I assumed that I would. And though she and I have been cordial and have even slept in the same bed, we have not been intimate in any way. She is shielded from me in much the same way I have shielded her from the anger I feel.”

“The walls need to come down.”

“Indeed. And I believe that using Leonard as a tool to bring those walls down is somehow appropriate.”

“The world needs to be set right and since he set it askew…”

“Quite right. I am scheduled to deliver my lecture at Leonard’s place of employment a week from Monday. If I cannot convince Penny to accompany me by then I will do it myself, even though I prefer she does it.”

“Sheldon, I agree with you. She does need to do it herself. Leonard Hofstadter needs to be absolutely certain that if he fucks with her or you again that it will be that last thing he ever does. As long as she keeps hiding here as Rene she is still his victim.”

“After we return from New Jersey on Monday I will begin by insisting she tell me exactly what he did to her. In detail. It has been eating away at her for fifteen years. I am her husband. She needs to understand that I am here to share her pain.”

“That’s going to be tough.”

“I understand. However, I don’t know whether to include you and Cyndee in this or not.”

“Well, in terms of Jersey you’ll need me to drive both times so I’m there. And I will be there for you however you want me to. Cyndee is a pretty smart kid. I think you need to ask her. I have a feeling she’ll want to be there for all of it. It’s not going to be easy. All of you are going to be emotionally exposed. I know you, Sheldon. You won’t like that at all.”

“To expect to go to war and not get bloodied would be foolish.”

“Okay. But we’d better make sure the First Aid kit is stocked.”

 

_Saturday afternoon_

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene and Carli._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene and Carli._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene and Carli._

Carli opened the door.

“Sheldon, you’ve been staying here for the last three nights. You really don’t need to knock.”

“I am attempting to respect your mother’s boundaries. At least for now.”

“What the heck does that mean?”

“Is she at home?”

“No, she had a bunch of errands to run before opening tonight. Would you like me to come get you when she gets back?”

“Actually it was you I sought to speak with.”

“Okay, come on in and have a seat.”

Sheldon followed Carli into the living room and joined her on the couch, taking the right side corner.

“I see you’ve found a spot.”

“It’s provisional.”

“So what’s up?”

“We seem to have succeeded in achieving the goal you brought Nora and I here for. Kurt is gone. It seems unlikely he will return now that the authorities have warned him off.”

“Does that mean you’re leaving?”

“Not quite yet.”

“What does that mean?”

“Carli, you are no longer the little girl I used to cradle. Though not quite an adult you seem to be wise beyond your years.”

“Gee, thanks. I think.”

“I wish to repair our family and since Nora and I are here at your request I thought it appropriate to ask whether you are able to support me in that effort. If not, we will of course leave.”

Carli teared up a little and jumped across the couch to hug Sheldon.

“I was so hoping you’d say something like that. I want you back in our lives and I want you and Mom to be together again more than anything.”

“I don’t believe this will be at all simple.”

“Trust me, nothing about dealing with Mom is simple.”

“I also suspect it will not be painless. I believe that your mother needs to confront the reasons that she fled California and me and also confront the person who forced her to flee.”

“Wow. That is not going to be easy.”

“I am quite aware of that. Though I am not a believer in therapy and psychiatry and hokum of that sort, I do believe that she suffered a trauma at my old roommate’s hands and has allowed that trauma to fester over the years. She never spoke of it in detail to me or to Nora or to anyone else close to her to my knowledge. Has she ever said anything to you?”

“Are you kidding? She barely talks about the happy times. If I mention dancing to her she just shuts down. I think you’re probably right. But, yeah, it’s gonna be messy.”

“Nora and I are planning to go to New Jersey where Leonard Hofstadter is currently employed and determine our plan of attack on Monday. I intend to speak to your mother when we return. I am scheduled to present a lecture there the following Monday. I wish her to accompany me.”

“What can I do?”

“When Nora and I return from our trip, be elsewhere. Penny and I will need to be alone.”

“I can do that. I can show Nora around the area, maybe even head into Manhattan and do some touristy stuff.”

“That sounds like a workable plan. Perhaps you should also plan to stay downstairs that night.”

“I have my headphones.”

“This is not about what you might or might not hear. I believe that Penny and I will require a level of privacy and freedom that even your presence in another room would intrude upon.”

“I think I understand.”

“You do realize that your mother could very well demand that Nora and I leave the next day.”

“Do you?”

“If the prize is our happiness as a family I will take the risk.”

“Then it’s worth it to me also. I want you back. I want all of you back.”

“You understand that with you living in California you can have us in your life as much as you desire.”

“It’s not right unless Mom is part of it too.”

“My thought as well.”

Just then they heard the door open and Rene walked in with a couple of large shopping bags.

“Okay, what are you two plotting?”

“Plotting. There are no plots. You know very well I’ll have no truck with plots.”

“Yeah, Sheldon, just like I also know you’re full of shit. What’s up?”

“Carli was curious as to my plans now that we have dispatched Kurt a bit more quickly than expected.”

“Speaking of Kurt I got a call from Captain Tuttle earlier. Seems when they checked they found out that Kurt jumped bail on an assault charge in Ohio a couple of years back. We won’t need to concern ourselves with him for quite a while. So yeah, I’m a little curious about your plans myself.”

“As I told you, I was arranging to present some lectures at local educational venues as I have not been in New York City for some time. I have been able to schedule lectures through the end of next week. I will depart then. I would prefer to remain here if you do not mind.”

“What about Nora?”

“As I just completed my arrangements a short time ago I have been unable to discuss the matter with her. I do not know her schedule at this point. I’m certain she misses Alex and Penelope, as do I.”

“What about _Manny’s_?”

“ _Manny’s_ is well in hand. Nora has been in contact with Leilah and has told me that she is quite satisfied with how things are being handled.”

“I guess I’m a little surprised. Leilah used to be quite an airhead.”

“Raj has been a steadying influence. After you left Leilah went to school and took a number of business courses. She actually has a gift for business management. Nora has depended upon her a great deal, especially since Penelope was born.”

“Okay, So you’re here for another almost two weeks and Nora we don’t know.”

“Mom, you make it sound like you’re counting the days until they leave.”

“Well, I would kind of like things to get back to normal around here.”

“Rene, if you consider our presence an inconvenience we can stay elsewhere.”

“No, no, stay here. I was just thinking out loud. Besides, I could still use Nora’s help downstairs.”

“Alright. We accept your kind invitation.”

“Was that sarcasm, Sheldon?”

“It was more akin to sardonic wit, Rene.”


	18. Chapter 18

**18**

_Sunday night_

Rene approached Nora as she was cleaning up the bar.

“Nora, can you do me a favor?”

“I thought I already was.”

“Yeah, um, no, of course you are. This is something else.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if, um, back at the club, um, you still have any of the costumes from the old days in storage.”

“Hell, we have tassles and balloon suits and giant feathery fans in there.”

“Not that old. From when we were dancing. The, um, super-hero things.”

“Did the takedown on Kurt inspire you? Are you going out to fight crime?”

“You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”

“Well, then why don’t you come right out and ask me what you want to ask me?”

“Fine. Do you still have my Batgirl costume?”

“There. That wasn’t hard. What are you planning to do with it? Seduce some young crime fighter?”

“Nora, you are purposely making this difficult.”

“I should hope so.”

“Come on. Is it there or isn’t it?”

“Sorry, babe, but it isn’t there any more.”

“Damn. Are any of my old costumes still there?”

“Nope.”

“Crap. I wanted to do something for Sheldon. To make it a little like the old days before you guys go back home.”

“Sweetie, the costumes aren’t there because I had them shipped here. I was hoping you might want to do something like that. Or I was at least going to show Carli what we used to parade around in.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Sweetie, you have a curious kid. She’s already asking me a lot of questions I can’t answer and some I shouldn’t answer. If she’s going to be at least visiting with us at North Los Robles…”

“Promise me she won’t be working at the club.”

“First, she’s not old enough. And she can’t lie to me about her age because I know it. Second, I don’t think she’s interested. Third, she could work worse places. Lots worse. If, and I say, if she wanted to work for me she’d be safe, protected and comfortable financially. And I will not have you of all people being all judgmental about _Manny’s_ and what goes on there. That place put food on your table, paid your rent and put you through college and grad school, though I’m not sure that education is actually being used anymore.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. Let’s agree to table the discussion unless or until she actually brings it up.”

“Fine. We can go through the stuff when you have time and see what fits. You’re still in pretty good shape but stuff moves around as you get older.”

“You just want to see me naked again.”

“Don’t be so full of yourself. Like I told you before, Alex is more than enough for me. What the two of us did was recreational. I enjoyed it but I’d much rather see you getting into Sheldon’s pants than mine.”

“Okay, I was just teasing. I’m sorry.”

“Fine. And I haven’t gotten laid in almost a week so I wouldn’t mind seeing you naked. But that’s all. I can take care of myself. So what are your plans for Sheldon?”

“I’m not really sure yet. We’ve been spending a lot of time together but we really haven’t been intimate in any way.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Fine. It’s me. I don’t want him thinking that we might be getting back together.”

“So you’ve already decided.”

“No. Yes. I don’t know. I’m afraid.”

“For him or for you?”

“Both. It’s been a long time. A really long time. And I really hurt him. He won’t even tell me how much.”

“Well, that might be a start. Make him tell you.”

“I don’t know if I really want to hear it.”

“Sweetie, I don’t know how many times I can tell you this. He loves you more than anything. Still. I don’t think he’ll ever stop loving you. Did you hurt him? Yeah, you hurt him a lot. More than anyone else ever did. I’ve probably gotten closer to him than anyone since you left.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Damn it. Like I was saying, I’m closer to him than anyone else right now and I’m still held at arm’s length. I don’t have anything like what you had.”

“That’s gone. I don’t think that’s ever coming back.”

“You’re wrong. It’s there, deep inside him, preserved like one of his old comic books. You just need to put on the gloves and take it out of the mylar. And you’re the only one who can.”

“I’m not sure I can handle the mylar.”

“You mean the anger. Did you think it would be easy? Nothing that important ever is.”

“But even if we get past that, what then? Do I go back? Does he come here? What happens with Carli? What happens with the business? What about his Nobel?”

“Stop it. One step at a time. Get him to the point where he opens up to you. And you open up to him. The two of you need to see if you can fall in love again and deal with the crap that’s in the way of doing that. Once you know the other stuff will fall into place. You know I’m right. It’s just that right now you’re as afraid of the fight you two need to have as he is.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, get past it. Put away all the sharp objects. Keep a few things around you don’t mind breaking and go for it. You might handle it in an evening or it might turn into a marathon. If necessary I’ll take care of things down here for a couple of days while the two of you fight and hopefully fuck it out. I’ll even come up and clean up afterwards, whatever that entails. But try. Please try. If you throw this away not only won’t I forgive you, but I don’t think Carli will either.”

 


	19. Chapter 19

**19**

 

Bright and early Monday morning Sheldon and Nora set out for the wilds of New Jersey in a ZipCar Prius. Sheldon complained about the available legroom but Nora assured him that the choice of vehicle was both economical and safe. Sheldon was able to determine Leonard Hofstadter’s home address through the college website and Google. That would be their first stop.

Leonard lived in a small house with a white picket fence on a quiet residential street. They parked on the street and observed Leonard leave for work. He looked older. He had a little goatee. It was all Nora could do to prevent Sheldon from getting out of the car and challenging him right then and there. Shortly after Leonard departed a young woman with a little girl left the house, shocking Sheldon.

“He has a family! He destroyed our happiness and now he has achieved his life’s dream! This is unacceptable.”

“Sheldon, we don’t know what the deal is. I mean, this probably changes things somewhat but we still don’t know what her relationship to him is or if it’s even his kid. We need to know more. Wait here.”

Nora got out of the car and tried to nonchalantly approach the little house. She checked the mailbox and then came back to the car. Unbeknown to Nora, this entire exercise did not go unobserved. Across the street, in another vehicle, a shadowy figure observed to herself “Hmmm. Older. But definitely the friend.”

When she got back to the car, Nora had a bit of information.

“There are two names on the mailbox. Leonard Hofstadter and Sandra Green.”

“Alright. Let us proceed to the campus. I’ll see what I can find out about her on the way.”

The shadowy figure in the other vehicle watched them as they drove by. “Sheldon,” she whispered. When they were out of sight she exited her vehicle and approached Leonard Hofstadter’s house.

Sheldon quickly did a Google search and a minute later was on Sandra Green’s Facebook page. Untagged photos of Leonard showed it to be the correct page. A cursory examination determined that the little girl was Sandra’s from a previous relationship, not Leonard’s. Sandra was apparently a student assistant of Leonard’s.

“I suspect that it is unlikely that she knows very much about Leonard’s past or she would not expose her child to him.”

“Sheldon, are you suggesting that we tell her? That would be a pretty lousy thing to do.”

“No, I am suggesting nothing. I am merely making an observation.”

“I’m not so sure that Penny is going to go along with that.”

“Nora, I suspect that if we tell Penny that Leonard lives with a woman who has a young child she will be somewhat upset.”

“Because of the similarity of the situation to yours?”

“Yes.”

They continued to the small college Leonard taught at. Just from observing the campus activity they could tell that most of the students were women. The science department was small but a number of its graduated had gone on to prestigious programs at major universities. It was secure in this knowledge that Sheldon had approached the college president about presenting his lecture. Though he had not secured his Noble Prize yet, Sheldon was well respected in his field and known. Since his lecture concentrated on women in the sciences it was perfect for the venue.

Sheldon determined where Leonard’s office was in relation to where he would be delivering his lecture and was then able to begin working out things would happen the following Monday. Of course, Penny’s participation would be critical.

Satisfied that they had learned all that they could, Sheldon and Nora returned to their rental car and started back to Brooklyn. The shadowy figure had arrived on campus shortly after they had. It was not difficult to spot Sheldon on the campus as it was not terribly large. After they left the figure picked up a campus newspaper and saw his upcoming lecture advertised.

 


	20. Chapter 20

**20**

 

After they returned the rental car, Sheldon proceeded to Rene’s apartment.

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene._

  _Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene._

  _Knock. Knock. Knock. Rene._

“Hello, Sheldon.”

“Hello, Penny. I think it’s time we had a serious discussion.”

“I think you’re probably right. Where would you like to start?”

 “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Everything.”

“That’s going to take a long time.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Eventually you’re leaving.”

“Not necessarily. Tell me.”

“There’s something specific you want to know, isn’t there?”

“Leonard.”

“I figured. I don’t know if I can do that. I don’t know if I want to do that.”

“Let me be clear. I am not leaving this apartment until you do. And neither are you.”

“I have a business to run.”

“You have a competent staff. You have Nora and Janie and Carli. And you have a computer and a telephone. Until we finish this discussion you are not leaving.”

“You’re starting to scare me, Sheldon. This is kind of like what he did.”

 “Then tell me what he did and I will not repeat that behavior or anything akin to it. And one thing you know is that you are safe with me.”

“Do I know that?”

“I promise you. Have I ever broken a promise I made you?”

“No. I think I need a drink.”

“You don’t drink.”

“Actually, Sheldon, I choose not to drink as much as I once did. I still have one every once in a while. This is sounding like a good time to have one.”

“I will not allow you to become inebriated and thereby evade this discussion.”

“Don’t worry. The last time I got drunk I woke up with Kurt in my bed. That’ll never happen again.”

“I should say not. Nevertheless, you may drink alcohol but I reserve the right to cut you off.”

“Fine. I don’t keep anything in the house. I need to go downstairs and get something from the bar.”

“I don’t think so. Nora and Carli have not yet left. Call Nora and ask her to bring a bottle up.”

“Fine.”

Penny got out her phone.

“Hi Nora. Can you please bring a bottle of Grey Goose up here? Sheldon won’t let me leave and I think I need just a little lubrication.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t overdo it. And remember what I said.”

“You’re in on this?”

“It’s for your own good, kiddo. And remember, he’s exposing himself too. This isn’t just about you.”

“Okay. Will you guys be downstairs?”

“Nope, we’re heading out. Not really sure where. But we both have our phones if we need to come back and clean up the bodies. But we won’t come up here unless you guys both ask us to.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Good luck.”

Penny closed the door, took the bottle to the kitchen, poured herself a drink and then came back out to Sheldon.

“Okay, what do you want to know?”

“Tell me about what Leonard did. All of it.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“That may be so but I suspect you relive the experience often.”

“Sure wish I didn’t. Drinking used to help with that.”

“Penny, please stop avoiding the subject.”

“Fine. You remember what I told you he did at _Manny’s_ when we first met?”

“You know that I do.”

“Well, I really didn’t see him again until he showed up at my door after I got back from spending Thanksgiving with my folks in Nebraska.”

“You knew that Cyndee had been photographed at _Manny’s_ but were unaware at that time who was involved.”

“Yeah.”

“Go on.”

“He showed up at my door and made me let him in. Then he showed me the pictures and told me that he would send them to Child Services if I didn’t do what he wanted. The first thing he wanted was for me to stop seeing you.”

“Which you did.”

“There was other stuff first.”

“What stuff.”

“I can’t.”

“You will. You haven’t shared these details with anyone but the police and in a closed court. You have allowed these events to build a wall of fear around your heart that permitted Leonard to destroy our family. I need to know.”

“Fine. First he made me get undressed and give him a lap dance. Then I had to give him a blow job and then I had to let him fuck me. Satisfied.”

“And…”

“He was waiting for me when I got home from work every day to repeat that. Sometimes he’d just show up in the morning. He made me feel dirty and worthless.”

“He is a vile human being.”

“Yeah, well. He kept reminding me that he was the one who spotted me first and that you had no right to me. And that he would make sure that Cyndee was taken away and that your career would end if I said anything to anyone.”

“It must have been horrible.”

“It was. I was so incredibly scared.”

“How were you able to ultimately stop him?”

“I’m surprised you don’t know. Raj was there. I would have thought he told you.”

“He did. You didn’t.”

“On the way to the fundraiser he made me give him a hand job in the back of the limo. I think he was getting tired of me and his main thing was getting back at you anyway. After you stormed out he tried to give me to someone else.”

“As though you were his property?”

“Yeah.”

“I believe that I may have been too easy on him.”

“That’s part of the problem, Sheldon.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When I saw the video of what you did to him in the cafeteria, when I saw your face I saw a stranger. The rage… the anger in your face, I don’t know who that was. I don’t want to know that person. I’m afraid of him.”

“I admit that I lost control of myself, a very rare thing for me.”

“Sheldon, I’ve seen you lose control. When we’re together. Intimate. I enjoyed that. A lot. What happened there was not the same.”

“I’m sorry you saw that.”

“It scared me Sheldon. That’s kind of why I left. That’s kind of why I don’t like talking to you about this. I don’t want to see that again.”

“You won’t. Please go on.”

“After he and that woman took Cyndee away I didn’t see him again until the meeting we had.”

“When you attacked him.”

“Yeah.”

“And then not again until the trial. Which you would not allow me to attend.”

“I was afraid of what you’d do once you heard all the details.”

“You didn’t have enough faith in me.”

“I’m sorry. I though that once he was put away everything would be okay. And it was.”

“Until he began stalking you.”

“Yeah. He was everywhere. I couldn’t avoid him. I called the cops. They spoke to him but he somehow had people who would say he was with them when I know he was following me.”

“I’m still not certain how he did that, but I believe they were paid. What didn’t you tell me?”

“I was scared of what you’d do. I thought you might hurt him or he might hurt you. Or worse. Then he started sending me pictures of Cyndee. With her friends. Playing. At school. I panicked.”

“You ran.”

“Yeah. I went to Jeff and Weldon. They set up a loan and bank account for me that only I could access and that couldn’t be traced.”

“And they lied to me about knowing where you were and why you left.”

“Not true. They never knew. They were just helping a friend in trouble. Nobody ever knew.”

“I hated you for leaving, you know. And I hated myself. I thought that I must have done something. I retreated from everyone. I replayed everything that had happened from the moment I met you. Years of memories in excruciating detail. Over and over again. It was very painful to relive all of the joy we shared and be faced with the emptiness that was left. And not knowing. I didn’t know if you and Cyndee were even safe. Or alive. That was not a very nice thing to do, Penny. It was very hurtful. And very selfish. I hated you for a long time.”

“So why do you even want me back?”

“Because hate, just like love, is borne of an intensity of emotion. It is because I feel for you. Not feeling at all would be worse. I don’t like you cheating us out of our love.”

“I never stopped loving you, Sheldon.”

“I want you back.”

“I don’t know if I can do that.”

“I merely want you to seriously consider it. Can you do that?”

“Maybe.”

“Is it possible that we could make love again before I return to California?”

“Possibly. I could consider doing that just because you didn’t call it coitus.”

“Don’t tease me, Penny. I am speaking of us being truly intimate. I don’t want what you shared with Kurt. I don’t want to just fuck you and then leave.”

“I think that I’m finally hearing some of that anger now.”

“I apologize.”

“Don’t. It’s deserved. Well deserved. And I’m pretty sure that we can’t resolve this until you do show it. And I don’t think either of us want that to happen in bed.”

“Agreed. How do we proceed?”

“Maybe we just hold each other for awhile and then get back to talking. And maybe order some dinner.”

 “All acceptable.”

 

_A/N: FYI, the next few chapters be short, quick scenes and conversations. The story just seems to be flowing that way, building towards the big climax, or possibly multiple climaxes, which would be better. Right?_


	21. Chapter 21

**21**

 

They held each other close and lost track of the time but remembered to order a pizza while they still could. They ate in silence, lost in each other’s eyes.

“There is something else you need to know.”

“What?”

“Leonard is working nearby as a teacher.”

“You’re kidding.”

“He teaches at a college in New Jersey that is primarily populated by young women.”

“How is that even possible? He’s a convicted rapist.”

“I do not know. He likely deceived them. There’s more. One of his students apparently is involved with him and even lives with him.”

“Sheldon, I told you not to go after him.”

“I have done nothing but collect information and observe. Penny, the woman who lives with him has a little girl. A girl about three years old.”

“His?”

“As far as I can tell, no.”

“What are you planning to do, Sheldon?”

“I have nothing planned regarding Leonard. I do, however, intend to present a lecture at that institution on women’s careers in science. I have successfully presented this lecture before.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Penny, fifteen years have passed and you have been unable to escape what Leonard did. His stalking you ten years ago tells me that he does not want either of us to forget or to be happy. Yet he has been able to construct a life. A very nice life.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I merely wish him to be reminded of what he did. What he stole from you.  From us.”

“And…”

“And I think that young woman deserves to know what kind of person he actually is.”

“And…”

“I think perhaps you should be the one to tell her.”

“So you want to do to him what he did to us?”

“No. I do not intend to stalk him. I do not intend to expose him publicly. I do not intend to destroy his relationship. I do not intend to even speak with him. I just think that for her safety and her child’s, that this young woman should know the kind of person she is with.”

“Sheldon, you know that if he is aware you are there Leonard will come to you.”

“Just because after all these years Leonard is likely to be so predictable should tell you something.”

“Yeah, I guess it should.”

“Will you at least consider what I am asking of you?”

“Which thing?”

“Any?”

“So, reconciling, making love, vengeance. Any, all or none of the above?”

“Essentially, yes.”

“Just an easy multiple choice question.”

 


	22. Chapter 22

**22**

 

“Sheldon, on a related subject…”

“Yes?”

“We know what happened with Leonard, maybe more than I wanted to know. What ever happened with that woman who helped him?”

“Amy Farrah Fowler.”

“Yeah, she wanted to be with you something awful.”

“It likely would have been awful. I suspect she was more enamored of the idea of a relationship with me than the reality. You recall that after she testified at the trial she left the country?”

“Yeah, and she sent us that odd note and the check as a wedding gift.”

“Yes, I thought donating the check to an a animal shelter was appropriate. That was the last direct contact had from her. What I heard after that was quite sad.”

“What?”

“Her relationship with her benefactor in Saudi Arabia apparently soured and she returned to the United States to continue her research. Apparently a colleague she criticzed played a prank on her and when she thought she was administering a sedative to one of her monkeys she instead gave it a stimulant. It attacked her and left her horribly scarred. She forgave the animal but not the colleague. That was several years ago and I lost track of her after that.”

“What is it with you scientists and your pranks? They never seem to work out well. I remember you telling me about what happened in the Arctic.”

“That was not a prank. Though in retrospect I should have interpreted it as a clue to Leonard’s extreme selfishness.”

 


	23. Chapter 23

**23**

_The letter Penny and Sheldon received from Amy Farrah Fowler_

 

_Dear Sheldon and Penny,_

_I wish to offer you my congratulations upon your nuptials. I am heartened to see that Leonard Hofstadter’s plotting did not force you to deviate any further from the road to happiness that you are now surely upon. I am deeply sorry for my part in the pain that you both suffered. I cannot forgive myself for being such a gullible fool. Though the authorities may feel that Leonard has been justly dealt with, I do not. He will someday pay dearly for his treatment of you and your little girl. I can assure you of that._

_I wish to also assure you that this will be the last you hear from me. I have relocated to Saudi Arabia where I will continue my research._

_As I am certain that a gift from me would make you uncomfortable, I enclose this check that I would like to contribute to your little girl’s college fund. If that causes you any discomfort please donate it to a charity of your choosing. I do not ask for your forgiveness. I do not deserve it._

_Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler_

 


	24. Chapter 24

**24**

“Sheldon, I don’t understand how you can even consider us being together again.”

“I find that I can consider little else. I was my best self, my happiest, when I was with you. And I know that you and Cyndee were both happy. I wish to restore that. May I ask you something, Penny?”

“Sure.”

“What do you want?”

“Mainly I want what I always wanted. I want Carli to be safe and happy. She’s had a good life here in Brooklyn.”

“She had a good life in Pasadena.”

“That life was threatened so I left. I can’t see returning.”

“Then why are you allowing her to return to California without you.”

“Because it’s what she wants. That will make her happy.”

“But what about you?”

“USC is a very expensive school. I need to keep working so she can go there. That’s what I’ll do.”

“Penny, I can aid with Carli’s college expenses. I wish to aid with them whether or not we reconcile. Though we have been separated for far too long I still wish to be her father.”

“Well, you’re certainly more of a father than Kurt ever was. But what about Penelope?”

“You know very well that I am quite frugal concerning my own living expenses. I have done quite well financially over the years and have made a number of wise investments. I can easily afford to support both Carli’s and Penelope’s educations and have a good deal left over. They are both my daughters and I wish to treat them as such.”

“So if I return to California what do I do? Keep house for you?”

“Though I appreciate that you’re housekeeping habits have improved over time I believe that would be a waste of your talents.”

“I guess I could go back to dancing.”

“Don’t be silly, Penny.”

“You don’t think I could still dance?”

“I know you could and I wish you to. For me. You have an advanced degree and a great deal of experience running your own business. I should think that you could do whatever you want. If you wished to open _Wackadoodle’s West_ , that could be workable. You could pursue a PhD. You could return to pursuing your long ago dream of acting. There are many options open to you. You should not be scared of the possibilities.”

“I guess.”

“And you would not be alone. Carli will be there. And me. And Nora and Alex and Howard and Bernadette and Raj and Leilah.”

“It’s a lot to think about.”

“Penny, if you don’t wish to be with me you can still return. I just want to be in your life and have you in mine. If we can’t have what we once had, please at least let us be friends.”

“I don’t think I could do that Sheldon. I don’t think I could do it halfway. That would be too painful for both of us. I’d rather never see you again than see you all the time and be reminded of what I threw away.”

“Damn it Penny! It was not your fault. You made a decision that hurt us all but you made it out of fear and concern for Cyndee. That’s what a mother does. That’s what a mother should do. There is but one person at fault and that is Leonard Hofstadter. As long as we suffer from the pain he brought upon us he wins. I don’t wish to see his self-satisfied little smirk in my dreams any longer. And neither should you.”

“Okay, fine. I’m not ready to decide about the two of us or about our future and whether we have one. But it’s fucking time for me to put that creep in the rear view mirror. What do you want to do?”

“We will go to New Jersey on Monday. I think you should be prepared to tell your tale to this Sandra Green. Beyond that we will just need to see how things play out.”

“Alright.”

 


	25. Chapter 25

**25**

Nora and Carli took the F Train to West Fourth Street and started wandering around the West Village on foot, ending up near the arch in Washington Square Park.

“So, are you looking forward to being back out west?”

“I’m looking forward to being in school and having all of you guys back in my life. And I’m really looking forward to having a little sister.”

“Yeah, Penelope is looking forward to having a big sister. She asks about you all the time. You should email her.”

“She reads and writes?”

“Yeah, for almost a year now. But if spellcheck is on it can get pretty messy. Her emails start reading like wacky poetry.”

“Nora, I was hoping to run something by you.”

“Sure.”

“I want to get things started up at school and I’m not sure what my workload will be but I kind of have a project in mind that involves you.”

“Me?”

“I want to make a film about _Manny’s_ and the girls that work there, that worked there.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because it’s interesting. You guys have always been a touch of class in an ocean of sleaze. A family. I don’t know how mom would have ended up if she didn’t dance there. She sure never would have met Sheldon. And the girls at Manny’s pretty much raised me. I figure there’s a bunch of stories there.”

“You really need to talk to your mother about this.”

“Nora, I want to be a filmmaker. It would be a cool film.”

“Your mom has some strong feelings about you being there.”

“I’m not three years old any more. No one can take me away from her. And I know what goes on there. It’s not like I want to go in and start stripping.”

“Yeah. That is _not_ going to happen.”

“Besides, it gives us a chance to bring all the girls that left back all at once. Maybe even do a special show. I would really like to see you and my mom up on the stage.”

“Yeah. There’s another thing that isn’t going to happen.”

“C’mon, Nora. At least let me start doing the research and do some background interviews out there. I promise I won’t even try to get you and my mom on stage. Yet.”

“Fine. You can do some background and speak to some of the girls. But I get to give you a final go/no go on it.”

“Sure.”

“And if I say no, you drop it.”

“I’ll drop it.”

“Forever.”

“Forever’s a long time.”

“Forever.”

“Okay.”

“So I have an idea for a framing sequence.”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to teach me a routine.”

“You said you wouldn’t be stripping.”

“I won’t be. I want you to teach me about the movement and how you interact with the audience.”

“I guess I could do that.”

“And if you want to strip I wouldn’t have a problem with that.”

“Kiddo, you’re beginning to remind me of someone and I’m not so sure I like it.”

“Yeah, then I’m going to remind you that you’ve pretty much slept with my entire family.”

“Carli!”

 


	26. Chapter 26

**26**

Penny and Nora got together the next morning for a late breakfast.

“How did it go?”

“I’m not sure. We only really made one decision.”

“Baby steps, kid. What did you decide to do?”

“I’m gonna tell the woman that Leonard is living with what he did to me.”

“That’s a start. While you’re doing that I’d love to make good on an offer I made a long time ago.”

“No, Nora, you may not castrate Leonard.”

“Darn! You ruin all my fun.”

“If we’re lucky, we’ll get in and out of there without ever even seeing him.”

“Sweetie, if you believe that you are deluded.”

“What?”

“You’d better plan on seeing him and facing him down. Because if you don’t, he’s going to still have the upper hand. You need to be able to leave him quaking in his boots knowing that if he ever comes anywhere near you and yours it will be that last thing he ever does.”

“I’m not sure I even know how to do that.”

“You do. At least you used to.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Penny, you used to strut around on stage, absolute stark naked, and every man on that audience wanted to _fuck_ you and at the same time they knew damn well not to fuck _with_ you. Leonard Hofstadter was the only one who was ever stupid enough to try anything. It’s high time that you made him scared of you. Not because of the law. Not because of Sheldon. But because _you_ are a power to be reckoned with. I don’t know how he took that away from you but it’s about damn time you took it back.”

“I’m not even sure I can do that.”

“You finally handled Kurt.”

“I had help.”

“Which wouldn’t have meant anything if you didn’t want it.”

“I guess.”

“You can handle Leonard. He really isn’t used to people fighting back. You have the power to take everything he has away from him. Again. But you also need to make sure that he knows that coming after you, threatening you or Carli or anyone you love will no longer work.”

“I don’t know.”

“You do know. Stop running. Stand your ground. Take back your life.”

“But what do I do after I handle Leonard, if I handle Leonard.”

“Stop being paralyzed by the step after the step in front of you. One step at a time, babe.”

“So don’t even think about what to do about Sheldon.”

“That’s not what I said. I think what I said is don’t let dealing with Sheldon stop you from dealing with Leonard.”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

“Going to Jersey with us is a big step. Helping that woman and her kid, telling them what Leonard is capable of, that’s major. In the grand scheme you are doing a good thing.”

“Okay.”

“There’s another thing.”

“What?”

“You keep talking like you’ve failed, acting like you failed. Yeah, you ran away. But after that you created a whole life, and from what I can see a really good one. You’ve raised an amazing kid. You built a really successful business from nothing. You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished.”

“Believe me I am. I just wish I hadn’t caused so much hurt in the process. I just wish that I hadn’t hurt Sheldon so much.”

“If you want, you’ve got a shot at undoing that. Just the two of you spending time together is helping there.”

“I guess…”

“It’s only been a few days. You have a whole lifetime to fix things with Sheldon and the rest of us. You just need to decide that you want to. So when do you want to start playing around with the costumes?”

“I see you trying to change the subject.”

“That’s just me knowing you a little to well, even after all this time. I know that if I keep pressing you about Sheldon that you’ll just shut down and stop dealing. That’s the last thing I want. And talking about your old costumes is not exactly changing the subject. It’s attacking it from another angle.”

 


	27. Chapter 27

**27**

“Do I see a question in your eyes, Carli?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Ask it.”

“What going on with you and mom?”

“I can’t really say that I know.”

“Can you guess?”

“Your mother is no easier to read now than she was when I first met her. If anything her walls have grown taller and more formidable.”

“You’ve always been able to get through them.”

“Unfortunately my own walls have similarly grown.”

“It seems to me that the walls only go up when you guys talk. Otherwise you’re kind of all over each other.”

“I don’t think either of us can deny our physical attraction for each other.”

“That and you’re both horny as hell.”

“Carli!”

“Am I wrong?”

“I am finding it difficult to be in the same room with her, let alone in the same bed as her, without trying to take our physical relationship further.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

“Excuse me. I’m not very comfortable having this conversation with you.”

“I’m 18 and about to start college. In terms of conversations I expect us to be having this one is kind of a slam dunk.”

“A sports metaphor?”

“Sheldon, do I need to be blunt? Why the heck aren’t you and my mother ravaging each other during every spare moment you have?”

“Carli, I don’t wish to have this conversation with you. However, in this area, your mother typically took the lead. I think that this particular situation requires that even more. I believe that she is well aware of my feelings in this regard. When she is ready, if she is ever ready…”

“Sheldon, I think you’re going to need to push a little harder.”

“I think that I’d prefer you stay out of it.”

“Not possible.”

“I’m willing to accept a limited victory in convincing her to come to New Jersey and possibly confront my old roommate.”

“I’ll be coming along.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Not really your decision. I’m just as much a victim of that hideous troll as my mom is.”

“No. You’re not. Not even close.”

“Okay. But I need to see my mom face him down. I need her to be Penny again, too.”

“If she allows you to come you may.”

 


	28. Chapter 28

**28**

The following Monday they set out for New Jersey in a Zipcar Honda CR-V. Carli decided to have some fun while they were making the arrangements by suggesting they rent a Minicooper. Sheldon threw a tantrum, marching out of Rene’s apartment and taking refuge in the one he was sharing with Nora. Carli had to apologize and tell him she was only kidding and then allowed him to choose the vehicle they would be taking. Sheldon close the one with the most legroom.

Nora drove. Sheldon was in the front passenger seat and Penny and Carli shared the back seat.

“Sweetie, you’re going to hear me talk about some stuff that I’m really not comfortable about you hearing.”

“Mom, I’m 18. I have a pretty good idea what happened. I understand you not wanting to talk about it. I really do. But it’s just been me and you for a long time. It’s important that you be able to say this stuff in front of me. I’m pretty sure that if something like that happened to me you’d be the first one I’d go to.”

“Wow. Okay. Just please don’t judge me for what happened.”

“I would never, ever do that. It’s just that we’ve all had to live with what that creep did for a long time. It’s gotta end.”

“Yeah. I think I know that. I’m here, right.”

“Yeah, you’re here. And I’m here to back you up. We all are.”

Sheldon turned around from the front.

“It’s long past time that Leonard Hofstadter had any place in our lives or our thoughts. We need to erase him and you are the one that has to do it Penny.”

“So no pressure, huh?”

“Sarcasm?”

“Terror.”

They pulled up in front of the little house with the picket fence and waited for Leonard Hofstadter to leave for work. When they saw him leave the house Penny didn’t want to look.

“Look at him, Mom. He’s not some big scary monster.”

“Penny, he is a pathetic little man and we will destroy him today. He will bother you again.”

“Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

After Leonard drove off Penny and Carli exited the car, approached the front door of his little house and rang the doorbell.

 


	29. Chapter 29

**29**

 

Sandra Green opened her front door to find two beautiful women standing there, a fortyish blond who must have been stunning when she was younger and a younger version of the same woman but with blue hair and who had not yet fully grown into her beauty.

“Can I help you?”

“Hi. Obviously you don’t know us. My name is Penny Queen and this is my daughter Carli. We have something very important to talk to you about.”

“I’m sorry but I’m really not in a position to buy whatever it is you’re selling.”

“I’m sorry. We aren’t salespeople. I’m here to tell you something about Leonard Hofstadter.”

“Leonard just left a few minutes ago. He should be back later this afternoon.”

“No. He’s the last person I want to speak to.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Um. This is hard to say but here goes. Fifteen years ago Leonard Hofstadter raped me.”

Sandra was taken aback.

“Why are you here? What do you want?”

“To be honest, I don’t want anything more than to tell you about the man you’re living with because I’ve had to live with what he did to me for a very long time.”

Pointing at Carli, Sandra stammered “Is this…is she…”

“No, Carli isn’t his, but she’s a big part of the story. I know we’re strangers and we’re telling you some very disturbing things. If you need to call someone to find out that I am who I say I am I can provide some numbers.”

“No, um, I’m willing to listen to what you have to say. Come…come on in.”

A little girl with curly black hair came over to her mother.

“This is my daughter Iris.”

“Hi Iris. I’m Carli and this is my mom Penny. Would you like to play while our mommies talk?”

“Okay.”

Iris led Carli to a corner of the living room filled with her toys and dolls.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“Coffee would be nice.”

Sandra came out with two cups of coffee and invited Penny to join her on the living room couch.

Penny began “It all started at a bachelor party…  


_At the campus_

Meanwhile, Nora and Sheldon arrived on campus. Their previous scouting expedition informed them of the route they needed to take to the lecture hall Sheldon that would be appearing in two hours hence. They walked by Leonard Hofstadter’s office on the way to the College President’s office. President Gloris would be introducing the lecture.

As Sheldon walked by Leonard’s office, Leonard suddenly saw him out of the corner of his eye.

“No. It couldn’t be,” he thought.

Sheldon and Nora walked into President Gloris’s outer office.

“Good morning. I’m Dr. Sheldon Cooper, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D. I believe President Gloris is expecting me.”

A portly woman in her mid-fifties came bubbling out of her office.

“Dr. Cooper, how wonderful to see you. I’m Miranda Gloris.”

“Very nice to meet you, President Gloris. This is my friend Nora Glass.”

“Good to meet you, Ms. Glass. You are a bit early, Dr. Cooper. Would the two of you like to join me in my office for coffee?”

“I don’t drink coffee, but a bottled water would be nice. Nora?”

“Same for me.”

President Gloris indicated for her assistant to retrieve some waters.

“I must say that I was surprised when I heard that someone of your stature was interested in presenting a program to our female students.”

“Well, several years ago I became more aware of the problems that women face gaining acceptance in the sciences. I helped design a curriculum for middle school and high school students to better prepare them. I periodically like to pop into educational institutions to review their curriculums and determine whether they have made any inroads that I should reflect in my lectures. Your institution has sent a number of young women to science programs at reputable graduate schools despite a lack of first rate facilities.”

“Well, we are a small school but we do take pride in the attention we give each of our students. And we attempt to gather a first-rate faculty. In fact, a former colleague of yours, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, is one of our adjunct faculty members. I am hopeful that he will consider taking the chairmanship of our Applied Sciences Department.”

“While it is true that I did work with Dr. Hofstadter at one time, I would hesitate to call him a colleague. May I ask how he came to work here?”

“Well, to be honest, I’m not quite sure. I’ve only been here about two years myself and Dr. Hofstadter was here when I arrived.”

“I don’t wish to tell you how to do your job, but I would strongly suggest you investigate a bit. You may be interested in what you find.”

“Dr. Cooper, you say that as though there is something untoward about Dr. Hofstadter. Can you please tell me more?”

“It’s not my place and I would prefer not to, but I will tell you that Dr. Hofstadter and I are not friends and that I haven’t communicated with him in over fifteen years.”

“You’ve piqued my interest. I’ll do some digging on my own.”

They chatted a while longer about the problems young women interested in the sciences face and then Sheldon looked at his watch.

“I suspect that if I’m to be ready to begin my lecture on time that we should make our way over to the lecture hall.”

“Very good, Dr. Cooper. Please wait outside. I’ll join you in a minute.”

President Gloris asked her assistant to call the Director of Human Resources and then patch her in.

“Martha. Miranda here. Do me a favor. Run a background check on Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. And keep it between us for the moment.”

“All right, Dr. Cooper. Ms. Glass. Let’s go. I’ll warn you, though. I tend to get waylaid in the halls quite a bit and I encourage it. So it may take a while for us to reach our destination.”

 

_Back at the little house with the picket fence_

“So, after ten years Carli here decides to bring Sheldon back into our lives and it’s his feeling that things can’t move forward for me until I make sure that Leonard can never hurt us again. And he’s probably right.”

“Wow. To say I’m shocked would be an understatement. Leonard never, ever wants to talk about his life before he came here. To be honest, he doesn’t like to talk much at all. He’s oddly quite physical. Maybe a little too much.”

“Listen, I’m not here to tell you what to do or to break you up or anything. Those are all your decisions to make. But I thought that since you kind of remind me of me and you have a three-year-old just like I did…”

“No, I get it. And I really do appreciate what you’re doing. It couldn’t have been easy. But here’s the thing. If I decide to leave I’m not sure where I could go. I’m starting grad school in the fall and I’ll need to get settled there at some point. It’s drivable but it would keep me away from Iris a little too much.”

“Where are you going to grad school?”

“Brooklyn College.”

“I think I might be able to help you there, if you’re interested. I have a vacant apartment in Brooklyn that needs a little work and another one that’s going to be vacant soon. And it’s a really good neighborhood for raising kids.”

“Okay. Let me think about that. We only just met after all. Anyway, we should probably head over to the college. You did say you wanted to hear your husband’s lecture. I guess I do, too.”

“I did. My friend Nora was going to pick us up but it’s getting late. You wouldn’t be able to give us a ride, would you?”

“Not a problem. Besides, I’m not sure that I could separate Iris and your Carli at this point.”

They both looked over to see three-year-old Iris and Carli deeply embroiled in a debate about princesses.

 

_Back at the college_

Leonard Hofstadter slowly left his office, trying to keep the tall man walking down the hall in sight. He saw him head into President Gloris’s office and decided to wait around the corner.

“What in the world is Sheldon Cooper doing here? I left that nutcase in California looking for his vanished wife. I’m pretty proud of that one. I wrecked his marriage and he has no idea I was even involved. That’ll teach him for costing me my job and sending me to jail.”

As President Gloris left her office with the two visitors Leonard could see for sure that it indeed was Sheldon Cooper. As he followed the through the halls he started noticing the flyers announcing the Sheldon’s lecture.

“Why didn’t I notice these before?” Leonard said to himself.

As they walked through the halls President Gloris was frequently asked questions and offered opinions by students and faculty alike. She responded to each and every one and introduced Sheldon to many of those she met, also inviting them to the lecture. Sheldon appreciated her hands-on approach to running an educational institution.

When they finally arrived at the lecture hall Sheldon proceeded to the lectern at the front of the room to set up his lecture notes. A student quickly brought him a pitcher of water and a glass. Nora took a seat in the back and President Gloris stood off to the side, out of sight.

After a few moments Leonard burst into the lecture hall.

“What the hell are you doing here, Sheldon?”

“Hello, Leonard.”

“I asked you a question.”

“I’m preparing to deliver a lecture on women in the sciences.”

“No you’re not. You’re here to fuck with me aren’t you?”

President Gloris thought she might interfere but thought better of it. She wanted to see where things went.

“Leonard, I guarantee you, I give you very little thought. Almost none.”

“I bet you’re still angry with me over Penny.”

“Why would I be angry, Leonard?”

People began filing in for the lecture, among them Penny and Sandra. Carli stayed with Iris out in the hall. Penny quickly spotted Nora and they joined her. The three of them watched with interest as things developed. As people filed in they became silent.

“Gee, I don’t know. Because I fucked your wife before you did.”

 “I wouldn’t characterize what you did that way, Leonard.”

“Well, how would you characterize it, Sheldon?”

Penny thought “Well it’s now or never” and stood. As she walked over to where Leonard was standing

“Gee, Leonard. I’m pretty sure what you did was rape me. Repeatedly over a period of two weeks. The police called it rape. So did the jury and the judge. That’s kind of why you went to jail wasn’t it? And you were in jail for a couple of years. Does anyone here know about that?”

“And you also terrorized Penny into fleeing from me. And you threatened our daughter.”

“You can’t prove I did that.”

“This isn’t a court of law, Leonard. We don’t need to prove you did it. Penny told me what you did, how you followed her and harassed her and threatened her. How she had to flee to protect herself from you.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. It happened a long time ago. Your stripper wife ran away and I’m here happy with an important job, a hot girlfriend and her little girl. Who ended up living happily ever after? Not you.”

At that point Sandra stood up and walked over to join Penny.

“You know, when Penny told me about what you did to her I wasn’t sure that I believed her.”

Leonard glared at Penny.

“You slut! How dare you interfere in my life?”

“You’re fucking kidding, right? You rape me repeatedly, take my child away from me, and threaten our safety, break up my marriage and you’re pissed off because I told on you. What kind of asshole are you?”

“It’s much more complicated than what they’ve told you, Sandra. I met Penny first, before Sheldon. She was mine. I called dibs.”

“You what!”

“It’s a guy thing.”

“No, it’s a petulant child thing. I can’t believe I thought I loved you. You’re a freaking creep, Dr. Hofstadter. I’m moving out of the house right away. Stay away until we’re gone. And don’t even try to find us.”

At this point President Gloris called the room to order.

“Dr. Cooper, are you prepared to continue with your lecture.”

“I am.”

“Dr. Hofstadter, I suggest you accompany me to my office. Ms. Green, I suggest you go home and do that packing. Dr. Hofstadter will be kept quite busy for the rest of the day.”

Penny went over to speak to Sheldon.

“Sweetie, you were right. Standing up to him was what I needed to do. And now I’m sure that his little fairy tale is over and that makes me happy. I’m going to help Sandra pack her stuff. She’s going to be joining us in Brooklyn for a while. When you’re finished here meet us at Leonard’s house.”

“Alright.”

As Penny and Sandra left, Sheldon turned and addressed the room.

“Good afternoon. I’m Dr. Sheldon Cooper, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D. I’m a tenured professor of Theoretical Physics at CalTech. I do apologize for what you just witnessed. Though much of it was of a personal nature, male teachers taking advantage of female students is but one of the situations you will contend with as you prepare for a career in the sciences. Though one would wish to believe that advanced thinking is accompanied by advanced attitudes all too often that is simply not the case. You will all need strength of will to guide you through these situations and you will also need the support of people like your President Gloris. Please attempt to befriend and accept guidance from her and people like her. They do exist. I hope that I am one of them.”

As Sheldon continued a woman wearing a hoodie standing in the back corner of the room turned and left.

 

_Next: We’re not quite done with Leonard yet._

 


	30. Chapter 30

**30**

 

When Sheldon completed his presentation President Gloris pulled him aside.

“Dr. Cooper, why didn’t you tell met that Dr. Hofstadter had assaulted and terrorized your wife?”

“I apologize, President Gloris. The damage that Dr. Hofstadter did to my wife and our marriage is still quite serious and we are still attempting to repair it. Part of that involved Penny being able to challenge him publicly. Additionally I need to be certain he was still the same self-important puissant that he was so long ago. Apparently some things never change.”

“I feel as though myself and my school have been manipulated to serve your purposes.”

“I apologize if you feel that way. My intent to help women in sciences remains. I believe that I have indeed helped them in multiple ways, not only through my presentation, but also in removing a viper from their midst. I presume that you will be discharging Dr. Hofdtadter.”

“We will. I am still trying to ascertain how he was able to gain employment in the first place.”

“I can’t be certain, but the Dr. Hofstadter I knew was quite fond of taking short cuts.”

“Now we find ourselves short a physics instructor and without a viable candidate to chair the department.”

“Though personal matters prevent me from offering myself, I am aware of some very qualified people who may be interested. A Dr. Ramona Nowitzki comes to mind. I do in a way owe her one.”

“Well, I will do my due diligence. This situation could be most embarrassing.”

“You can be assured that I will share it with no one and will support this institution and you if necessary in any way that I can. A mistake was made prior to your administration. Those who made it are likely long gone. The beneficiary of it will soon be gone.”

“Thank you Dr. Cooper. I did very much enjoy your presentation. I do hope we’ll be able to work together again under more positive circumstances. I need to proceed to my office now for a most unpleasant task.”

 

_President Gloris’s Office_

When Leonard Hofstadter arrived at the President’s Office he found the Directors of Human Resources and Security awaiting him. He started to speak but was instructed to sit down and wait for President Gloris to appear. After about fifteen minutes she entered the office and sat behind her desk. The Director of Human Resources gave her a stack of papers that she began to examine, pausing occasionally to add her signature.

“President Gloris, I’d like to explain. Dr. Cooper and his wife have had a grudge against me for a long time.”

“Dr. Hofstadter, you raped Dr. Cooper’s wife. They have good reason to hold a grudge.”

“She was not his wife at the time and I wouldn’t characterize what happened that way.”

“Ah, but as Mrs. Cooper said, and the papers I’ve just examined confirm, you were convicted of that crime and served time in prison. Is that not the case?”

“Yes, but it was a big misunderstanding.”

“Dr. Hofstadter, I am more concerned how you were able to gain employment at the college with a criminal record. I see from your initial application then that when asked whether you had ever been convicted of a crime you said no. You lied on your application?”

“I’ve never been convicted of a crime in New Jersey.”

“Did they not do a background check?”

“The computers were down for maintenance that day.”

“It seems to me that they could have waited until they were working and done it then.”

“Well they didn’t and I was hired,” Leonard responded haughtily. “And I’ll remind you that you believed I was doing a good enough job to consider me for a chairmanship.”

“Well I was obviously mistaken. I have had a quick background check done in the meantime and while you may know your stuff as a physicist you are a despicable human being. You’re fired. There will be no severance. There will be no reference. You will report to your office to pack up your personal items and remain there until I have been assured that Ms. Green and her daughter have removed themselves from your residence. Do not ever return to this campus. Your name will be shared with the local police so that they are aware that a convicted rapist lives in the area. I suspect you will be relocating in due time. You, sir, are an embarrassment to academia. Good day.”

 

_Next: Still not done with Leonard._


	31. Chapter 31

**31**

Sheldon and Nora met Penny, Carli, Sandra and Iris at the Hofstadter house to help Sandra pack her things. Carli was assigned to help keep her new best friend Iris calm during what had to be a very stressful situation. Sandra enlisted a couple of friends from school to rent a truck and help with loading and unloading her furniture.  They were happy to help because in the six months she had lived with Leonard he was very uncomfortable with her spending time with anyone other than him.

“I can’t believe you folks are all being so helpful to a stranger. And a stranger with pretty bad judgment at that.”

“We’ve all been where you are, Sandra. We’ve made mistakes and had someone there to help us climb back up. Sometimes we haven’t and know what that’s like also. Luckily we happen to be in an almost perfect situation to help you out. The apartment definitely needs work but I’ve been wanting to make some upgrades for a while. Now that my restaurant is back to making the money it should I can do that,” Penny offered.

“I’m not certain what changed Leonard. I want to believe that deep down there is good in him. It just seems that there is a selfishness that’s overwhelmed that.”

“Sandra, take it from someone who is learning this the hard way. Sometimes you have to put things away and move on. You’re lucky. Accept it and take this as a life lesson.”

“Thanks, Penny. So what’s the deal on the other end of this move.”

“Okay, for a few days thing are going to be a little tight. While we do some minor renovations and paint the two-bedroom apartment that you’ll eventually be in, you and Iris will stay in the apartment that Sheldon and Nora were in. Sheldon is going to keep staying with me and Nora is going to be on my couch. Your furniture will go into the one-bedroom which is almost empty except for the two beds and a table.”

Nora looked on. “I kinda like take-charge Penny.”

“Yeah well someone has to run the show and since it’s my friggin’ building it’s gonna be me.”

By the time they finished packing and loading the truck it was almost 5:00pm. Sheldon decided to make a suggestion.

“We should attempt to avoid rush hour traffic. I suggest that we go somewhere and have dinner and after that proceed to Brooklyn. I am hopeful that the Governor of New Jersey will not be manipulating the traffic patterns this evening. I checked and there is a Cheesecake Factory in Edison, which is en route.”

Penny remembered how particular Sheldon was about his food and agreed, since if Sheldon suggested it, he wouldn’t be as troublesome at the restaurant.

Sandra’s face lit up. “I haven’t had a slice of cheesecake since I started seeing Leonard. And I love cheesecake.”

“Ah, but if memory serves and for me it always does, cheesecake plus Leonard equals an odor more noxious than the swamps of New Jersey,” added Sheldon.

The group laughed as they happily loaded into their various vehicles, Nora and Sheldon in the rental; Sandra, Penny, Carli and Iris in Sandra’s car; and Sandra’s friends Flint and Herb in the truck and set off for Edison.

The shadowy figure watched them leave, smiled, approached Leonard’s house and was able to gain entrance rather quickly. She wasn’t alone.

The group arrived in Edison a short while later and headed into The Cheesecake Factory. It was like a time capsule. The waitress uniforms were exactly like those they remembered from Pasadena. Sheldon felt very much at home. After minor negotiations with the waitress, Sheldon ordered his standard fare and the others placed their orders. Sheldon picked up the check.

Leonard Hofstadter returned to what he expected to be an empty home carrying a cardboard box of items from his former office. He opened the door and turned on the lights.

His neighbors reported hearing inhuman screams when they called the police.

 


	32. Chapter 32

_A/N: I’m really sorry I took so long between chapters. As I’ve said before, RL reared its ugly head and distracted me. And, once distracted, I had trouble finding my way back in. I have now completed the story and you’ll be seeing regular, if not daily, updates until we reach the end. The story didn’t end exactly the way I thought it would when I started and there is, in fact, a chapter that remains unwritten. I think the story still works without it, but I suspect some of you were looking forward to it. I suspect you’ll be able to figure out which one it is. And you’re perfectly welcome to take a shot at it yourselves._

**32**

 

Once the group arrived in Brooklyn they quickly set about settling Sandra and Iris in the apartment formerly occupied by Sheldon (daytime only) and Nora. Things were tight but Penny expected things to be like that for no more than a week. The following morning Penny arranged for painters to come in, ordered new appliances for the kitchen of the two-bedroom, and arranged for a quick renovation of the bathroom.

Sheldon was hoping that once the Leonard situation was resolved that he and Penny would finally begin to discuss their future. However circumstances still conspired to delay that conversation. Late Tuesday morning Sheldon received a call on his cell from President Gloris.

“Hello President Gloris. To what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?”

“Dr. Cooper, I wanted to let you know that you’ll likely be hearing from the police shortly.”

“The police?”

“Indeed. Apparently, Dr. Hofstadter was assaulted last night.”

“I can assure you that it was not me. I haven’t seen Dr. Hofstadter since he left the lecture hall yesterday morning.”

“Well, you will likely need to confirm that for the police.”

“President Gloris, may I inquire as to Dr. Hofstadter’s condition?”

“He was apparently quite seriously harmed and is hospitalized. He is, however, expected to survive. As he is still covered by the college’s insurance policy I suspect I will eventually learn more.”

“Thank you for contacting me. I will inform everyone here of the situation.”

Sheldon found everyone downstairs in the restaurant having breakfast.

“I just received a phone call informing me that Leonard Hofstadter was assaulted last night and is currently hospitalized. He is expected to recover. And we should expect to hear from the authorities.”

As if on cue, Sheldon’s cell phone rang.

“Hello. Dr. Sheldon Cooper.”

“Hello. Dr. Cooper. This is Detective Sebastian of the New Jersey State Police. I’m investigating an assault on Dr. Leonard Hofstadter, who I believe you know.”

“I am acquainted with Dr. Hofstadter.”

“We’re looking to get some information from you. This morning we received an odd email and we’re hoping you can shed some light on it. May I send it to you?”

“Certainly.”

“Thank you. I’ll call you again in a few minutes.”

Sheldon waited for the email to arrive and then read it.

_My name is Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler and I alone am responsible for the attack on Dr. Leonard Hofstadter yesterday evening. The animals that attacked him were capuchin monkeys trained by me. I surveilled him, entered his home when I knew no others would be there and directed the attack. The monkeys are in good health though I recommend Dr. Hofstadter undergo a regimen of rabies vaccines to be sure. The monkeys and I are no longer in the United States. Please be assured that Dr. Hofstadter was quite deserving of the treatment he received at our hands and I am quite satisfied that his sexual urges will now forever go unsatisfied. I just wish I had done it fifteen years ago. It would have saved a number of people a great deal of heartache._

_Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler_

Sheldon handed his phone to Penny. She read the email.

“Wow. She did it. She said she would do something and she did.”

Sandra looked concerned. “I don’t understand. What happened?”

“Sandra, Leonard was assaulted last night by some monkeys under the direction of a person we used to know who once said she would exact revenge upon his person. He is currently hospitalized but expected to recover, though not fully.”

“What do you mean by not fully?”

“The attack was apparently focused on a particular area of his anatomy which he will not regain the full use of. A number of humorous quips come to mind but I will refrain out of respect for your feelings.”

“Sheldon, based on what you and Penny have told me, I guess you could say that there’s a kind of justice in what happened to Leonard. I’m certainly sorry when anyone is harmed, but Leonard seemed to be able to amble trough life never really taking any responsibility for his actions. As for me, I think I’d prefer to forget about him if you guys don’t mind.”

“As soon as I have another conversation with the police I intend to do the same thing.”

Sheldon’s phone rang and he wandered off to fill the Detective Sebastian in on Amy Farrah Fowler and her connection to Leonard and himself.

“So I guess now the Leonard Hofstadter portion of our lives is over?” said Penny.

“Sure seems that way,” answered Sandra.

“So, moving on, here’s how this week is going to work. I’ve spoken to my contractors. Sandra, your apartment will be ready by Friday afternoon for move-in. It’ll be freshly painted, with new appliances and a remodeled bathroom. I think you and Iris will be pretty happy there. We’ll figure out rent later but I promise it’ll be something you can afford. It’s more important for me to have good people here than to make money. Nora, when Sandra moves into her place you’ll go back down to the other apartment and Carli will be sleeping there until you and Sheldon leave on Tuesday. Sheldon and I will be spending the weekend in my place trying to figure out what the future holds for us. I’d appreciate it if we weren’t disturbed. And we’ll be having a special going away dinner on Monday night. Janie is going to be the new restaurant manager and I’d appreciate you keeping an eye on her and our new bartenders, Scot and Steve, over the weekend. Okay Nora?”

“Take-charge Penny is moving fast. You already have new bartenders.”

“I do. Scot and Steve have been working in the neighborhood for years and people love them. They’re also both family guys so we don’t need to expect the kind of nonsense we had with Kurt. I’ll probably be adding another one but for now they can cover what needs to be covered.”

“So, until then?”

“Sheldon has lectures to do. I have a business to run. And you probably have some sewing to do when we review my old costumes before the weekend.”

“So you’re going to put on a show for Shelly?”

“Don’t you dare tell him. I want to spend some time with my husband and hopefully we will be a bit more intimate than we’ve been.”

“Sweetie, you’ve slept together every night.”

“Just slept.”

“Oh.”

 


	33. Chapter 33

**33**

It wasn’t until Thursday morning that Penny and Nora were able to get together and review Penny’s old dancing costumes.  They decided to eliminate the non-super-hero ones. Penny was, after all, going to put on a show for Sheldon and it should be tailored to his sensibilities.

Penny began trying on the costumes. The Buffy costume fit fine but Nora suggested that without a vampire attacking Penny would just look like an over-aged girl in a school uniform and while Sheldon appreciated anime, it was not his preference. It had been almost fifteen years since Penny had donned any of the costumes and since most of them were skin tight, adjustments would have to be made. Penny weighed exactly the same as she had then, 110 pounds, but gravity had made some adjustments. Stuff had moved. Nora took note of where things would need to be let out and where they would need to be taken in. They moved through the costumes as quickly as they could and prioritized. Penny wanted a few choices and, since they would be together the whole weekend, Penny planned on putting on more than one show. The constant changing and adjusting meant that most of the time Penny was standing around naked, between costumes as Nora marked up the costumes and took notes.

“Don’t get any ideas, Nora.”

“Who? Me?”

“I know you. To be honest, I’m surprised you haven’t made a move on me yet.”

“And I keep telling you that I’m perfectly satisfied with Alex.”

“With an occasional bit of Sheldon thrown in.”

“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

“Should I.”

“Penny, Sheldon and I haven’t been together like that in months. The closest we came was almost sharing a bed here but you nipped that in the bud and he’s been in your bed ever since. If you think I have a problem with that, you’re nuts.”

“I know you, Nora. I’m surprised when you go for weeks with getting any.”

“I’m older, babe. And I’m a mother. Do you remember what having a toddler is like?”

“It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, well I remember what it was like with you and Cyndee. If I recall correctly you went for months and months without anything and didn’t miss it.”

“Oh, I missed it. I just had priorities and I didn’t want to expose my kid to a parade of guys that didn’t mean anything.”

“Until Shelly came along.”

“If Cyndee hadn’t fallen in love with the guy right away nothing would have ever happened.”

“Not to mention that you fell in love with him pretty quickly yourself.”

“Yeah, well…”

“So, what’s the plan?”

“Plan?”

“You’re just going to overwhelm him with a show and fuck his brains out? Is it just going to be 36 hours of sex? What then?”

“That’s what we need to figure out.”

“Don’t you have any idea of what you want to do?”

“This is the first time in years that I haven’t been looking over my shoulder. I always thought that Leonard might find me.”

“Why? He broke up your marriage. What else could he do?”

“I didn’t say it made sense.”

“And all this time you didn’t even consider therapy?”

“Why?”

“Because you were, are damaged. That asshole traumatized you. You didn’t even trust the guy who worshipped you to help.”

“I was afraid of what Sheldon would do. I was afraid he’d kill Leonard and ruin the rest of his life.”

“So you made him live alone not knowing what happened to you. He might as well have been dead.”

“He had you.”

“I was a bandaid. The only one that could make things right, that can make things right is you.”

“I’m still not sure it can work. I have a good life here. I’m a successful business owner.”

“And all you do is work. You have no life Penny. It’s just you and Carli. What are you going to do when she goes off to school?”

“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.”

“I thought you were going to figure things out with Sheldon. It’s starting to sound to me like you’ve already made a decision.”

“Maybe I have. I don’t know.”

While they were talking Penny had continued to try costumes on.

“Anyway, I think we have our finalists. Batgirl, of course. Supergirl and Wonder Woman. Maybe Black Canary. Mainly for the fishnets.”

“Hmmm. Not sure I can get the Black Canary to work. How about the Zatanna instead? You’d still have the fishnets.”

“I wanted to avoid the wig.”

“Fuck the wig. I doubt Sheldon is going to take off points for accuracy. I suspect he’ll be more interested in what’s under the costume.”

“Hey, this is Sheldon. He even wants the underwear to be accurate.”

“Okay, I’ll work on Black Canary _and_ Zatanna.”

“Can you have them ready for tomorrow night? I need to spend all my time on getting the restaurant ready for the weekend.”

“I can get it done. So, now that we’re finished with the costumes, how about a quickie for old times’ sake?”

“Nora!”

 


	34. Chapter 34

**34**

 

Friday night finally came. After spending the day settling Sandra and Iris in their new apartment, setting Nora and Carli up for the weekend, prepping _Wackadoodle’s_ for a weekend without her and making some minor adjustments to the furniture placement lighting in her apartment Penny sat down on her couch.

“I’m not one bit closer to making a decision. What the hell am I going to say to him?”

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Penny._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Penny._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Penny._

“It’s open, Sheldon.”

“Hello, Penny. It’s 7pm.”

“I’m aware of the time, Sheldon.”

“I was under the impression that you had planned things out for the weekend. Is there not a schedule?”

“There’s more like a list. First thing on the list is us talking.”

“Alright.”

“Sheldon, first thing that you should know is I love you. I’ve always loved you and I always will love you.”

“I feel similarly.”

“You should also know that I got used to not having you in my life.”

“Penny, the evidence belies that. I seem to be as much a presence in your life as you are in mine.”

“Perhaps spiritually and emotionally, yeah. But physically… Two weeks ago I was pretty sure I would never see or speak to you again and while I wasn’t exactly happy about it, it was something I made peace with. Now, here you are and the best I can do is say I’m confused.”

“Penny, I think for a moment you need to put yourself in my shoes. Before Carli came back into my life I didn’t know if you were alive or dead, happy or sad, or if you even cared about our life together. I’ve now spent almost two weeks sharing a bed with someone I thought lost to me forever. I’m waiting to wake up from a dream to find you gone again.”

“I don’t know what I can offer you, Sheldon. I can’t ask you to join me here. You have a life in California and a child, soon two children there. You don’t belong here.”

“I belong by your side, but I believe I understand your implication. Both Penelope and Carli will benefit greatly from my continued presence in their lives. And I will benefit from theirs in mine.”

“I agree. And I’m not saying that this situation is forever. We’re back in each other’s lives. We can Skype. We can email. We can text. We can visit. I want to be part of your life and I want you to be part of mine.”

“You’re just not certain we can be husband and wife.”

“No. That’s not what I’m saying. We’re married. I will never want to be married to anyone but you. But if you want to end our marriage I’ll go along with it.”

“Penny, I have no intention of providing an easy way out for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Where does that leave us?”

“I think we have a couple of days to do some things that we haven’t been able to do for a long time and after that we figure things out as they come up. And maybe, if things go well, we eventually find a way to be together.”

“So, if I understand your intent, you are saying that we will _fake it until we make it_.”

“Not sure I would’ve been so blunt, but yeah. I want to think that somehow we have a future but we just don’t know what that looks like right now. Lots of open doors.”

“Knowing that I will have you and Carli in my life once more in any way makes me happier than I ever thought I could be again.”

“I was kinda hoping we can top that over the next couple of days.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“First, we’re going to have some dinner. The restaurant will be sending something up in a little while. A meal I planned just for us. After that, I have a bit of entertainment planned that I’m pret-ty sure you’ll enjoy. After that… well, I have a really good idea what will happen then. I just hope you go along with it.”

“I would be satisfied sitting next to you in silence until Monday.”

“Not exactly my top idea of a fun weekend, but so would I. We’ll just have to do that another time.”

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and dinner was delivered.

After consuming the best spaghetti with sauce and hot dog slices he had ever eaten followed by a delicious peach cobbler Sheldon felt sated. Penny cleared away the dishes.

“Penny, you have clearly trained your chef to satisfy my palette.”

“Not terribly hard, sweetie. I like what you like.”

“You implied there would be entertainment?”

“Yup. Take a few minutes and relax. Then head over to the couch and have a seat. I’ll join you shortly.”

Sheldon sat down on the couch, which he noticed had been moved. The area in front of it had been cleared. And the window shades had all been drawn. After fifteen minutes he grew impatient.

“Penny? Where are you?”

Suddenly the lights went out.

“Penny, did you not pay your electric bill?”

Sheldon heard some movement in front of him. There was a clap and the lights came on. They were focused on the area in front of him. Standing there, hands on her hips was Penny, wearing the Batgirl costume she’d worn when she first danced just for him. Suddenly 15 years fell away and he was more in love with her than he had ever been.

Prince’s _Lemon Crush_ began to play.

 

 


	35. Chapter 35

**35**

 

Monday morning Sheldon exited Penny’s apartment in a jocular mood. He went down to the second floor and began packing things up for their return to Pasadena. Monday evening they all met in the closed restaurant for a farewell dinner. Sheldon and Penny were pretty close-mouthed about what, if anything they had decided about their relationship. When everyone went to bed that night things seemed fine.

Tuesday morning Sheldon came downstairs from Penny’s apartment, opened the door to his-temporary-about-to-be abandoned-apartment, walked in, walked over to his suitcase, picked it up and walked back out.

“This is not going to be a fun flight,” thought Nora as she followed him downstairs to the waiting cab. Sheldon had packed all but their carry-on luggage and arranged for it to be shipped. It would arrive in Pasadena the following day. Sheldon would then clean and launder every single item and return those that belonged to Nora to her.

They arrived at Los Robles that evening. They took the elevator up, checked in at 4A. They both kissed Alex hello and went to see a still-awake Penelope.

“Mommy! Daddy!”

Sheldon brightened up and picked Penelope up, said “Hello Penelope. I’ve missed you so much” gave her a kiss on the forehead and hugged her tight. Nora saw a few tears and had a tough time holding _herself_ together. Sheldon handed Penelope over to Nora.

“Good night.”

“Sheldon, are you sure you want to be alone? You could stay down here tonight? Or I could stay up there?”

“No Nora. I will not intrude upon your reunion with Alex. That would be unacceptable. I’ll be fine. I’ll just catch up on my REM sleep in my own bed. I’ll speak with you tomorrow.”

As soon as he closed the front door behind him, Nora handed Penelope over to Alex.

“Can you put her down, sweetie. I’ve got to find out what happened. Those were the first words he’s uttered since Brooklyn. And I don’t care what he says. I’m worried.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What else, I’m calling Penny.”

“This should be good.”

“Um, not putting it on speaker. Well talk after. Okay?”

“Talk?”

“I’m euphemizing.”

“Two weeks with Sheldon…”

Nora figured that this should at least start as a private chat between friends. She punched in Penny’s quick dial (she had no intention of letting that bitch up and disappear again).

“It’s fucking three in the morning. I just fucking fell asleep. What do you want?”

“No wonder you spend most of your night’s alone. Who’d want to sleep with _that_?”

“Hi Nora. What’s wrong?”

“How about you tell me? Sheldon hasn’t said a fucking word since Brooklyn except hello to Penelope and good night on his way out. What happened between you two?”

“That’s kinda between me and Sheldon, Nora. And I’m to going say this as nicely as I possibly can to show you that I’m not angry at you for asking but it’s really none of your business.”

“I beg to differ. Since I get to deal with your _husband who has major abandonment issues on account of his wife disappearing on him ten years ago_ every day and I got to clean up the last time he was like this and because I love that guy I’m gonna ask again, _what the hell happened_?”

“Nothing. He was fine. We talked about me coming out with Carli before she starts school and setting up a schedule for visiting each other and I said we could do all of that online when he got home and then he cleaned my bathroom.”

“So you didn’t dump him?”

“No, did he say something?”

“I told you he hasn’t said anything. You should have let him do the schedule.”

“We can do it tomorrow.”

“You’re forgetting…”

“What?”

“Contracts and agreements.”

“Crap.”

“He still likes to sneak them in. A shared schedule is like a contract.”

“And he wanted me to make a commitment to him and I wouldn’t do it. Crap. What should I do?”

“You’re going to make sure that you are the first person he speaks to in the morning. You know his schedule. You know exactly when to call.”

“After the cereal. Before the bowel movement.”

“Make it right. He doesn’t deserve to be this unhappy.”

“You’re right. I’ll call. And I’ll buy the plane tickets for me and Carli  and send him a PDF.”

“You gonna do that or sit there talking to me?”

“Doing it right now. Computer age, babe. I can do both. It’s a cinch I won’t be sleeping until I speak to the big idiot.”

“Okay. So what exactly happened between you two this weekend? I bet Carli you didn’t get past Batgirl and spent the rest of the weekend ravishing each other.”

“You’re betting with my daughter on my sex life?”

“I can see how you might have an issue with that. Well, it was her idea and what she bet on was really sweet and romantic with only a little bit of kink.”

“I don’t want to know. And I’m not going to share.”

“At all?”

“Okay. You will never be getting any of those costumes back. They will be in use.”

“So all the costumes? Interrupted by ravishing? And we have a list of possible positions. Can you help with that? I may owe Carli some money. Tell her I’m good for it.”

“You actually expect me to tell my _barely-out-of-diapers_ daughter…”

“Eighteen-year-old…”

“…my _barely teenaged_ daughter that she won a bet with my best friend over how exactly my husband and I were going to ravish each other after having not fucked in ten years. And also give you a play-by-play?”

“Yeah, if that’s not a problem…”

“I refuse to have the discussion. Refuse! You two figure it out between you.”

“The bet involves you.”

“Crap. You bet on me _and_ I’m the stake? What do I have to do?”

“Technically, you don’t have to do anything. It’s more of a not doing something thing.”

“Go.”

“Carli wants to make a film about _Manny’s._ I assume you know about it.”

“I know. She’s been talking about it for years.”

“You’re okay with it?”

“I don’t know whether or not I’ll participate, but now that Leonard has been handled, I guess there’s more of a chance I will. I have a lot of good memories and it would be nice to see everyone. Think we can get the guys back from Costa Rica?”

“Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The bet was that I’d give permission to Carli to move forward with it and film on the premises. We’ll probably have to draw up some kind of contract.”

“Please let Sheldon write it.”

“Legally not sure that’s a great idea. Guy writing a contract between the mother of his child and his stepdaughter? No shortage of potential landmines there. I’ll let him draw up a framework and witness it.”

“Okay. Makes sense. But one thing I know is that now that we’re back in each other’s lives I will never sign another contract that Sheldon hasn’t reviewed.”

“Our landlords wish they had a Sheldon. He really screwed them on our last lease negotiation.”

“Yeah. Speaking of that. Now that Sheldon knows where I am and we intend to stay in touch, you guys don’t have to stay at Los Robles anymore. You could get a house or something with a yard for Penelope.”

“I really hadn’t thought of that. Well, if it was something thrifty-plan-ahead-Sheldon is thinking about doing I’m sure we’ll hear all about it. But if creature-of-habit Sheldon is in charge there will be no rocking the boat. I need to see which Sheldon shows up after you deal with fear-of-abandonment Sheldon. I’ve got Crisis on Infinite Sheldons here.”

“That’s a comic book thing right?”

“Oooooh, so close. Ya got the church, the pew…but that only gets you halfway there. And I gave you most of the words too.”

Nora and Penny continued talking for a while longer until Alex came out and signaled that Penelope was finally asleep.

“Sorry babe but I’m gonna have to hang up now. Alex hasn’t had any in over two weeks and thanks to you neither have I so, um, yeah I have to go.

“Okay, Nora, I’ll call Sheldon first thing. Let me know how he is after I call. Give my love to Alex. Um, on second thought… maybe reconsider that wording. I’ll hang up now.”

“Goodnight, sweetie. I’ll speak to you later.”

“So you think Penny will fix Sheldon?”

“For now. It won’t really be fixed until they’re physically permanently together.”

“Any chance that actually happens?”

“Don’t know yet. Right now there’s another relationship that needs work.”

“There’s no problem here, Nora.”

“Didn’t say there was. Just makin’ sure there won’t be. Come here, you.”

_The following morning_

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Alex, Nora and Penelope._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Alex, Nora and Penelope._

_Knock. Knock. Knock. Alex, Nora and Penelope._

The door opened and Sheldon looked down to see Penelope.

“Good morning, Daddy.”

“Good morning, Penelope. Alex and Nora, why did you permit Penelope to open the door. I could have been a marauder.”

“A marauder who took the time to learn to knock on the door just like you? How very considerate of him. Nora and I might like that,” Alex responded frostily.

“I apologize for my behavior yesterday.”

“I take it you spoke with Penny.”

“Yes, she phoned me between my cereal and my bowel movement just as you planned. Thank you.”

“Sheldon, you need to remember that you and Penny have been apart for a long time and that you are kind of high maintenance. You’re going to have to figure out how to communicate with each other. Either remind her that certain things are very important to you or give her a little slack. You guys are going to have enough issues if you want to be together without you putting up obstacles and then not telling her about them.”

“I would argue that she should have been aware of the meaning of a shared schedule, but I am in such a fine mood this morning that I will let it pass.”

“So what did you and Penny conclude this morning?”

“I would tell you but that would deprive you of the joy of extricating the information from Penny when you call her later. Suffice it to say that I will be shopping for some items to enhance her upcoming visit. Which one of you can drive me?”

“Sheldon, you have a license and your own damn car.”

“True, but I believe that I will need some assistance. Nora, you are closer to Penny’s size and know what she likes and since you did the adjustments to her costumes would be the better choice. You did a very good job on the costumes, by the way. Would you be interested in crafting some new ones that fit better with current continuity?”

“Sheldon, if what you’re saying is that you want me to shop for lingerie and sex toys with you, ewww. But okay I’ll go with you. I guess this is called taking one for the team. On the costumes, I really prefer the classic costumes, but if you have specifics in mind, I’ll consider doing something for you.”

“That’s all I can ask. Shall we bring Penelope along?”

“I’m gonna say no to bringing our daughter to Victoria’s Secret. Alex?”

“Think I’m going to agree there.”

“You may be right.”

 


	36. Chapter 36

**36**

Penny and Sheldon set up a schedule of Skype and phone calls and resolved that they would communicate with each other in some way each and every day, whether it be by voice, text, email, Instagram, Twitter or any other form yet to be invented. In late August Penny arrived to help Carli move into her dorm and stayed with Sheldon. She enjoyed reuniting in person with everyone she had been communicating with by phone. Bernadette and Howard’s baby girl had just been born and Penny enjoyed her time with the new baby. After she left Sheldon was a bit depressed but not inconsolable. They resumed their communication schedule and everything went well until the beginning of November. Suddenly Penny was not communicating as often as before. Communications went from every day to every other day and the second week of November just stopped. Sheldon called Penny but only got her voicemail. He called _Wackadoodles_ and spoke to Janie but every time he called Penny was out. He started making plans to fly east.

Penny got out of the cab in front of 2311 North Los Robles. “It was definitely a good idea to not let them know I was coming. That way I can still run. Not for much longer though,” she thought. “It still feels really weird. Yeah, definitely the elevator and not the stairs and just hope nobody else gets on.”

She pressed “5” and closed her eyes until the door opened on the fifth floor. She knocked on the door to apartment 5A. The door opened.

“Yes.”

“Hello, Sheldon.”

“Penny, I’m a bit surprised.”

“Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

Penny walked over to the couch and sat down.

“Sheldon, please come sit next to me.”

“Why are you here, Penny?”

“Please. Sit.”

“Alright.”

“First, I’m sorry.”

“For…?”

“Not calling for the last week. Not returning your calls.”

“Or my emails. Or texts.”

“I’m sorry. I had a lot of things to figure out and it took a little longer than I thought it would.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The last time we said goodbye I was pretty sure that was it. That whatever it was we had was eventually going to end because you were here and I was there.”

“And?”

“I began to realize that I didn’t want to live without you any more. But I still wasn’t sure what to do. Or what I could do. Then a couple of things happened.”

“What happened?”

“I got an offer on the restaurant and the building.”

“I wasn’t aware that you were selling.”

“I wasn’t. It came out of nowhere. It’s a really good offer. It took some time to work things out and come up with a contract of sale. I was hoping you could take a look at it.”

“Of course I will.”

“Please look at it now.”

Sheldon wasn’t comfortable putting their conversation on hold but he acceded to Penny’s wish. As he went through the contract he made notes in the margins.

“Penny, this is a very lucrative offer. Not only have they offered you an above market price for the property, they’ve included a licensing agreement for _Wackadoodles_.”

“They want to open a restaurant out here and follow the model I created for _Wackadoodles_. The want me to find the property and consult on running it.”

“That’s wonderful. You’ll be moving here then?”

“If that’s okay with you.”

“You know that it is.”

“And you’re okay with us living together again?”

“Of course.”

“Sheldon, I’d really like you to think about moving to a bigger place. A house with a yard and room for all of us.”

“All of us?”

“Sheldon, we can find a house that works for all of us, me and you and Nora and Alex and Penelope and Carli, and will be a good place for kids to grow up.”

“Penelope is quite happy here. And there is always room for Carli when she visits.”

“Sheldon, I really want us to have a new start and, I’m sorry, but this place won’t be big enough.”

“Big enough for what?”

“Our family. I’m pregnant, Sheldon. We’re going to have twins.”

Sheldon just looked at Penny. For a long time. And then he began to cry.

 

**Epilogue**

Sheldon called a family meeting for that night. He called Carli and insisted she come to Pasadena. Nora said she would pick her up. When Carli arrived everyone was surprised to see that her hair was now a natural blondish brown color and she looked almost exactly like Penny had when Sheldon first met her.

Penny, Sheldon, Nora, Alex, Carli and Penelope sat around the living room of Nora and Alex’s apartment. Penelope sat quietly in Carli’s lap.

“I assume you are all wondering why I’ve called this meeting of our wackadoodle family, as Penny calls it. First, we have some announcements to make. Penny?”

“I’m selling my building and restaurant and moving back out here. I got a really, really good offer and Sheldon has advised me to accept it.”

“Mom, what about Sandra and Iris?”

“Already found them another place. They’re fine and they say hi. And they both want to come visit us.”

“It’s gonna be a little tight.”

“That’s one of the other matters we need to discuss. Penny will be receiving a significant amount of money for her property and I have advised her that she should invest it in real estate.”

Nora and Alex looked alarmed.

“You guys are going to move out?”

“Yes. However we have a proposal. We would like to propose that we, as a group, seek a home that can support all of us living together, something with two master bedroom suites and a number of additional bedrooms for others.”

“What others?” asked Carli.

“Well, Penelope and you, of course. And a guest room. And…”

Penny blushed. “Yeah, and we’ll need a room for the babies.”

“Babies?”

“Sheldon and me, well, I’m pregnant. We’re going to have twins.”

After everyone finished hugging each other, Alex brought up the unasked question.

“Isn’t this new house going to cost a lot of money?”

“Penny, show Alex and Nora the contract of sale. Please look at the bottom of page 37.”

Alex and Nora paged through the sales contract.

“Seven million dollars!”

“Property values have gone way up since I bought the building. It’s a little crazy.”

“I believe that the real estate market in that area of Brooklyn is nearing its peak. This is a very opportune time for Penny to sell her property. And if you add our collective savings to the pot I am certain we will be able to find a property that will be a good home to us for many years to come and a fine place to raise children.”

It didn’t take them very long to find a house that satisfied them all. And the wackadoodle family with one daddy, three mommies and four children lived happily ever after.

 

**Epilogue 2**

“Mom, you agreed to do it.”

“And you agreed that I would be in shadow and nobody would see anything. I’m over forty and just had twins, for God’s sake.”

“Sweetie, the twins were born six months ago and you are in better shape now than you were in when you were dancing. You should flaunt it,” yelled Nora from the side of the stage.”

“Mom, remember, this is incidental footage. The only one who gets a copy of your whole routine is Sheldon. I’m only using bits and pieces in my film. Same thing with you and Nora and your Buffy/vampire thing.”

“I can’t friggin’ believe you convinced two mothers to strip on film.”

“Well, Nora said she wouldn’t do it unless you did it. And Sheldon and Alex said they wouldn’t back the film unless both of you were dancing in it.”

“I can’t believe our family is making us do this.”

“Are you ready mom?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Nope.”

“Music.”

Prince’s _Lemon Crush_ played over the loudspeakers.

“Action.”

The lights came up on Penny in her Batgirl costume.

 

_A/N: And that’s it. Hope you enjoyed the ride. It got a little bumpy both inside and outside the story but this is still essentially the tale I wanted to tell. And spending more time with Nora has helped me figure out some issues with another story. No promises about when you’ll hear from me again. I hope it’s soon. Thank you all for reading, following and reviewing. Our little corner of the TBBT multiverse is very supportive._


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